Great Clips announces next CEO
The world’s largest hair salon chain is set to make a change at CEO.
Great Clips has announced the promotion of Rob Goggins to president and chief executive, effective Jan. 1, 2026. He will succeed Steve Hockett, who will retire at the end of 2025.
Goggins has spent the past 18 years at Great Clips, and was named president in January 2018. In the role, he oversaw expansion, talent, learning and development, business intelligence and technology, operations and more. Previously, Goggins served as chief operating officer for four years, and spent time as senior VP of real estate & development before that.
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“We are excited to welcome Rob Goggins as the next CEO of Great Clips, Inc. to guide our future success and continue to grow our position as the world’s leading salon brand,” said Rhoda Olsen, vice chair of the board for Great Clips, Inc. “We are confident that Rob’s long-standing franchisee experience and his understanding of the Great Clips brand will allow him to uniquely execute strategic, growth-driving initiatives to continue accelerating salon-level results for our 600-plus franchisees across the United States and Canada.”
Hockett began his Great Clips career as a franchisee in 1988 before being hired by the company in 1992 as a marketing manager, and later serving as regional director and VP of operations. After serving as president of FranChoice, Inc. and then Rapid Refill Corp., he rejoined Great Clips in 2008 as VP of operations, and was named CEO in 2018.
“I would also like to thank and recognize Steve Hockett for his tremendous contributions not only as CEO but for his more than 35 years working across various aspects of our business to deliver strong results for our brand and franchisees,” added Olsen. “Under Steve’s leadership, Great Clips generated 61 consecutive quarters of salon sales growth, helped our franchisees manage through and ultimately thrive following a global pandemic as well as extend our brand into culturally relevant partnerships such as the National Hockey League, College Football Playoff and March Madness to connect with millions of consumers.”
In addition to the CEO transition, Great Clips announced that Kerry Bundy will be promoted from VP of legal, general counsel and corporate secretary to chief legal officer, reporting to Goggins. In addition to continuing to lead the legal, franchise administration, and compliance functions, Kerry will take on an expanded role in franchise industry government relations. Kerry previously worked for more than 20 years at the Faegre Drinker law firm, including serving on their management board.
Founded in 1982, Great Clips operates over 4,400 salons in North America and employs more than 30,000 stylists.
