About David Segal

Twenty years on the inside.

Twelve businesses. Always on the operator side — not as a clinician, but as the entrepreneur building the thing around the clinic.

20+

Years in aesthetics

12

Businesses built

400+

Podcast episodes

Career Timeline

Co-Founder, Cosmos Clinic

2006 — now Australia's largest cosmetic surgery operator

General Manager, Laser Clinics Australia

Grew the injectable category from its earliest days

Founder, The Cosmetic Institute

2012 — 3 locations (2 accredited day facilities + 1 licensed hospital), NSW & QLD. $40M peak revenue. Surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses & support staff.

LCA Franchisee

7 locations, consistently the most profitable in the network — 4 sold to KKR, 2022

Published Author

"Skin: The Essential Australian Guide" (Fairfax Books, 2009)

Global Advisory

Allergan, Hugel, Evolus, Alma, Merz

Podcast Co-Host

Inside Aesthetics — 60–80K monthly listeners, close to 8 years running

Twelve businesses. Twenty years. Always on the operator side — not as a clinician, but as the entrepreneur building the thing around the clinic. Cosmos Clinic came first, co-founded in 2006 and now Australia's largest cosmetic surgery operator. Then came the General Manager role at Laser Clinics Australia, where the injectable category was still finding its feet.

The Cosmetic Institute followed in 2012 — three locations across New South Wales and Queensland, two ISO-accredited day surgery facilities and one licensed hospital, with a full team of surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses, and support staff. Along the way there was also a book: Skin: The Essential Australian Guide, published by Fairfax Books in 2009.

$40M

Peak annual revenue

50%

Australia's breast aug market

KKR

Exit — 4 locations, 2022

The Inside Aesthetics Podcast started as a passion project and became one of the most listened-to voices in global aesthetics — 60–80,000 listeners every month, close to eight years running, more than 400 episodes. That audience eventually became a community: the Inside Aesthetics app launched and hit over 600 members in its first six weeks.

A recognised global KOL on business in aesthetics, and a strategic advisor to some of the world's leading pharmaceutical and device companies:

Allergan Hugel Evolus Alma Merz

On stages across Australia, Europe, and North America, the topics are always the ones this industry tends to overlook: financial literacy, consultation excellence, and the patient journey.

Today I put all of that — the wins, the setbacks, and two decades of hard-won experience — into helping practitioners, clinic owners, and brands get the business side right.

I've lived both sides of this industry.

In 2012 I founded The Cosmetic Institute. Within three years it captured 50% of Australia's breast augmentation market, hit $40M in annual turnover, and was valued at $100M. It then collapsed, costing me $25M personally and teaching me more about leadership, risk, and complacency than any course ever could.

Rise

$40M turnover. 50% market share.

TCI grew to three locations across NSW and Queensland — two ISO-accredited day surgery facilities and one licensed hospital — with a full team of surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses, and support staff.

Fall

A $100M business, gone.

Regulatory scrutiny and the complacency that comes with rapid growth brought it down — a personal loss of $25M and a hard reset on how I lead.

Rebuild

Back to what works.

I returned to my LCA franchises and built them to seven of the network's most profitable locations, selling them in stages — four to KKR in 2022, the rest to other buyers. The rebuild taught me as much as the rise.

If it's part of running a clinic business, I've done it.

Buying and selling businesses, lease and 3PL negotiations, ground-up build-outs, product reformulation, supplier relationships, HR, legal disputes, and day-to-day operations — end to end.

M&ABuying & selling clinic businesses
Lease NegotiationSite selection & commercial terms
3PL & Supply ChainLogistics & distributor negotiations
Clinic & Hospital Build-OutsFrom scratch, with architects & designers
Product ReformulationWorking with manufacturers & brands
Supplier RelationshipsPharmaceutical & device companies
Hiring & Team BuildingClinical & non-clinical staff
General OperationsSystems, P&Ls, day-to-day running

On stages across the industry.

Keynotes, panels, and workshop sessions on clinic growth, consultation excellence, and the business side of aesthetics. Select recent engagements:

Cosmedicon

Sydney, 2022

Hugel 360 Symposium

Sydney, March 2026

Hugel Australia Roadshow

Multi-city, Australia

BTS Conference

Stockholm, 2025

Fresh Life Clinic

Annual speaker, 2024 & 2025

Canadian Aesthetics Expo

Toronto, 2025

AAS Conference

Perth, 2025 & 2026

Aesthetic Business Masters

Sydney

ASCPD Symposium

Australasian Society of Cosmetic & Procedural Dermatologists, 2023

Enquire About Speaking