Rowan, in Partnership with Women on Boards (WOB) Project, Appoints Three Dynamic Professionals to Board of Directors

New York, NY, 2022-Feb-15 — /EPR Network/ —Rowan, the innovative, female-founded startup powering the future of ear piercing, announces today the addition of Tracy Gardner, Ana Badell and Mike Bufano to its Board of Directors. Gardner and Badell’s placement was supported through the Company’s collaboration with Women On Boards (WOB) Project, a nonprofit with the mission of empowering female business leaders and improving diversity and inclusion at the Board of Directors level across consumer brands. Their addition to Rowan’s Board signals another important step towards diversifying gender on boards and creating inclusive board selection ecosystems. These three notable placements will support the future growth of Rowan through its decades of experience across high-profile brands.

Rowan was born in 2018 by Louisa Serene Schneider, an entrepreneur, sister, daughter, and mother who believes in the power of milestones to create lifelong, confidence-building memories. After struggling to find a safe piercing experience for her niece, Schneider sought an industry change by providing top-quality service with safe piercings that are performed by licensed nurses using hypoallergenic earrings made from premium materials. While encouraging customers to take a moment to celebrate the “now” by tapping into self-expression, the brand provides a safe and celebratory experience for consumers of all ages and gender. Gardner, Badell and Bufano will support the company’s product innovation and accelerated growth following Rowan’s Series B funding round which was completed at the end of 2021.

“At Rowan, we celebrate the milestones, big or small, as we help create life-long memories through safe, confidence-building piercing experiences,” said Founder and CEO Louisa Serene Schneider. “We value the partnership with Women of Boards (WOB) Project when the time came to appoint our next Board members. We believe with the expertise Tracy, Ana and Mike bring to our Board, our team will continue to accelerate our brand forward. As a female founder, I understand the importance of diverse voices on our team and board and we are beyond pleased to be supporting the WOB Project.”

Gardner is a visionary brand builder who brings three decades of experience developing and leading high-performing teams to elevate consumer brands across omnichannel platforms to Rowan’s Board. In addition to her position as Principal of Tracy Gardner Consultancy, Gardner has used her laser-focused brand development expertise to lead growth and strategy within highly regarded fashion brands, including Gap, Inc, J.Crew Group, Inc., and Lands’ End, Inc. She previously held a number of leadership roles at J.Crew Group, Inc. where she completed its public offering and helped to grow revenues by approximately $1 billion. She also spent more than 11 years in several omnichannel leadership roles across Gap Inc.’s portfolio of purpose-led brands.

Working alongside Gardner, Badell will bring mastery of global marketing and strategy to Rowan’s Board further positioning them for future growth. Badell’s expertise with brands such as Beautycoutner and Starbucks will bring veteran and diverse insights to the Board table. In addition, the brand welcomes Bufano’s dynamic leadership experience and proven track record of building and transforming companies and teams, most recently as Chief Financial Officer at Allbirds.

“We are thrilled for Women on Boards Project to be supporting a female-founded brand that recognizes the importance of diversification on boards,” said Cassie Burr, Executive Director of the Women On Boards Project. “Rowan creates life-long memories for their consumers and we are excited to see their new placements assist in the brand’s future success.”

For more information, please visit heyrowan.com and WOBproject.com.

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About Rowan

Rowan, founded in 2018, is an innovative service and products company in the ear piercing and jewelry space that provides safe and celebratory ear piercing and hypoallergenic jewelry through its brick-and-mortar studio locations, Rowan at Target studios and at heyrowan.com. Rowan employs licensed nurses to provide ear piercing and related services and features exclusively hypoallergenic and nickel-free earrings. The company provides a long-overdue alternative to the standard mall piercing experience and believes that ear piercing is a milestone moment that should always be accessible, enjoyable and safe for all. Guided by this mission, Rowan has developed a successful partnership with Target to provide in-store piercings to consumers across the country. Currently located in over 250 Target locations nationwide, Rowan will be rapidly expanding to over 600 locations in early 2022. Rowan currently has three brick-and-mortar locations open in New York City, Connecticut and Denver, with additional locations opening in Houston, Brooklyn, New Orleans, Miami and Atlanta in 2022. For more information, please visit heyrowan.com.

About Women on Boards (WOB) Project

Women on Boards (WOB) Project was created in 2020 by consumer industry leaders to increase the number of women serving on consumer company boards while also expanding diversity including race, ethnicity, age, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, and gender fluidity. The Project is inspiring a game-changing movement to provide women access to seats at the board table while working in partnership with a consortium of industry leaders in venture capital and private equity to diversify their respective boards portfolios. For more information, please visit WOBproject.com.