ArkMalibu is pleased to announce that Karen Bentlage has joined the firm as a Senior Advisor, bringing over 35 years of entrepreneurial experience and executive leadership across the beauty, franchising, and business advisory sectors.
Karen is a seasoned operator with a proven track record of founding, scaling, and exiting successful businesses. She founded and led a beauty importing and distribution company for 28 years, growing it into the third-largest in its industry prior to a successful exit. Concurrently, she and her husband secured regional development rights for European Wax Center (EWC) across New England and much of New York. Under their leadership, the franchise expanded to over 85 locations, ultimately resulting in a sale to private equity in 2020.
Currently, Karen serves as a Professional EOS® Implementer, advising entrepreneurial leadership teams on strategic vision, operational discipline, and organizational health. She brings deep operational insight, a people-centric leadership philosophy, and extensive experience navigating growth, transition, and value creation. In addition to her advisory work, she serves on several nonprofit and advisory boards, supporting initiatives that promote entrepreneurship and community development.
Karen holds a deep passion for empowering business leaders and building purpose-driven teams.
She and her husband of 33 years, Antonius (“Twan”), split their time between Connecticut, New Hampshire, and the Netherlands. They are proud parents to Dillon and Josie, and enjoy travel, community engagement, and time on the lake with family and friends.