Aaliyah Picanso serves as Digital Marketing Manager at New York Sports Club, where she leads digital marketing and communications initiatives focused on brand growth, member acquisition and retention, and modernizing the customer journey across digital channels. Her work centers on building connected marketing ecosystems that bring together data, technology, and storytelling to create stronger, more meaningful member experiences across NYSC and its portfolio of fitness brands.
Originally beginning her career in Paris, France, Aaliyah developed a strong foundation in brand storytelling and creative marketing, experience she now brings into the fitness and wellness space. With an academic background in psychology, she brings an analytical perspective to understanding audience motivation, engagement, and the emotional connection people build with brands and wellness experiences.
Driven by both a personal passion for fitness and an interest in how brands shape community and identity, she is especially focused on building experiences that create stronger connections between people, wellness, and community. She is known for developing thoughtful marketing strategies that strengthen engagement, foster brand relevance, and drive measurable impact.
Adam Shane is the owner of Yoga Joint New York. He most recently served as the Executive Vice President of Operations and Chief Development Officer of Barry's, a global luxury boutique fitness brand that now has 100 global locations spanning across 16 countries. Prior to joining the company as one of its three "C-Suite" executives, Adam was the company's most successful global franchisee, opening seven locations in and around the Bay Area from 2013 - 2020. Adam graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1997 and after an early career in Investment Banking in NYC, he followed his passion for health and wellness by joining Town Sports International (owner of New York Sports Clubs) and working on the corporate finance and real estate teams acquiring, sourcing and building locations throughout the northeast. He also spent time with Equinox Fitness before joining Barry's.
Al Noshirvani is Co-Founder and Executive Chairman at AltaDX, a technology and AI firm focused on the HALO (health, active lifestyle and outdoors) industry. Prior to launching AltaDX, Al was the Co-Founder, CEO, and Chairman of Motionsoft Inc from which he successfully exited.
In 2010, Al was named by the Washington Business Journal as a member of the 40 under 40 which recognizes the Greater Washington region’s brightest young business leaders based on demonstrated business success. In 2014, under Al’s leadership, Motionsoft was recognized as the IHRSA Associate Member of the Year. Al is also the founder of the Fitness Technology Summit an annual, invitation-only event where marketing, operations, and technology executives gather for 3 days of networking, education sessions, and insightful panel discussions. He serves as an Entrepreneur in Residence with Integrity Square, a boutique Investment Bank where he focuses on Fitech and SaaS applications practice. Al is also the owner of a chain of health clubs in the greater Washington DC metropolitan area called Method Gyms and currently serves on HFA's Board of Directors.
Alex Lyons is the Vice President of Product & Talent at JETSET Pilates, where she leads programming, instructor development, talent strategy, and training systems across one of the fastest-growing Pilates franchise brands in the industry. With experience spanning boutique fitness, luxury fitness, digital platforms, and franchise operations, Alex specializes in building scalable systems that support instructor quality, operational consistency, and elevated member experiences.
Prior to JETSET, Alex held leadership roles with House of Athlete and RE/GEN Method, focused on talent development, programming, and performance strategy. She also spent years with Flywheel Sports as a talent recruiter, senior instructor and digital trainer, helping shape both studio and at-home fitness experiences during the growth of connected fitness.
In addition to her startup and franchise experience, Alex has worked extensively within large-scale luxury fitness operations through Equinox, giving her a unique perspective on scaling talent, product, and community across multiple fitness business models.
Alex Tanguay is a seasoned brand and marketing leader with a track record of shaping culturally relevant, high-growth consumer brands. With brand leadership roles at companies like Spotify and Nike, and currently as SVP of Brand at Hims & Hers, she brings a unique perspective at the intersection of performance, wellness, and modern consumer behavior. Alex has built and scaled brand and integrated marketing organizations, driven breakthrough and iconic brand campaigns like Spotify Wrapped, and helped redefine how brands show up in people’s daily lives.
Her work increasingly focuses on the evolving “athletech” space—where wellness, health, and technology converge to create more personalized, accessible, and data-rooted experiences. She is particularly passionate about the role of brand in building trust, motivating behavior change, and making wellness aspirational AND attainable.
Alex lives in Brooklyn with her family and continues to be energized exploring how design, storytelling, and innovation can shape the future of health and culture.
Alfredo Bataller is a pioneer in health and wellbeing as well as an international business leader. He holds a Law Degree from the Universidad de Alicante and an MBA from Instituto de Empresa (IE), complemented by executive programs in strategy and leadership at Harvard Business School and IESE.
He began his career in Madrid, working with leading real estate firms such as Proincasa and Centauro. In 2007, he joined the family business group, and just a year later, assumed the role of CEO at SHA. Since then, he has led the transformation of SHA into a global benchmark in health and wellbeing, earning numerous international awards and recognition for its cutting-edge approach to integrative medicine, longevity, and preventive health.
Beyond his leadership at SHA, Alfredo also serves as CEO of AB Living Group, which develops luxury projects across Spain, Mexico, and the Middle East. He is also a board member of forward-looking companies, including AI pioneer 1 Million Bot and private equity firm Formentor Capital. Driven by a passion for innovation, he actively explores how artificial intelligence can transform healthcare — from predictive diagnostics to personalized wellbeing strategies — ensuring SHA remains at the forefront of the longevity revolution.
Amanda Hill is the Senior Vice President of Global Content Strategy & Programming at Peloton, where she has helped build and evolve the company’s industry-defining content platform since 2016. She leads planning and creative across Peloton’s global content organization, shaping the content roadmap, guiding instructor class development, and driving programming strategy and output across Peloton Studios.
Amanda has played a key role in expanding Peloton from its original focus on Cycling to a multi-modality fitness platform, offering 18 modalities today. Through a fitness-entertainment lens, she supported the launch of the Peloton Tread, Row & Guide while developing programming and partnerships that deepen member engagement and extend the brand’s cultural reach.
Her work sits at the intersection of content, talent, product, and community, with a focus on creating experiences that drive long-term member connection and business growth.
Andreas Caperonis is the Vice President of Sales & Director of Marketing at Equinox Hotel New York, where he oversees sales and marketing efforts for one of the hospitality industry's most innovative luxury lifestyle brands.
Having worked with some of the world's leading hotel companies, Andreas has built his career around driving performance, cultivating meaningful partnerships, and developing winning teams. His expertise spans luxury, lifestyle, and full-service hospitality, with experience across corporate, group, entertainment, and leisure travel segments.
Passionate about leadership and talent development, Andreas is known for building high-performing teams and mentoring future hospitality leaders. He believes that strong cultures, accountability, and continuous learning are the foundation of long-term success and exceptional guest experiences.
Throughout his career, Andreas has successfully navigated changing market conditions while helping organizations adapt to evolving traveler expectations and industry trends. His leadership approach combines commercial expertise with a people-first mindset, creating environments where both teams and businesses can thrive.
Andrew Sugerman is an accomplished executive and strategic leader with a proven record of driving transformational growth across global consumer, commercial, media, and digital businesses. A former senior executive at The Walt Disney Company, where he oversaw an $800M P&L and built Disney’s global digital media and publishing platforms, he brings deep expertise in strategic planning, content development, operations, and revenue generation. Currently, the CEO of Centr, a global wellness brand co-founded with Chris Hemsworth, Sugerman has successfully scaled the business through innovative product launches and international expansion. With prior experience across startups, private equity, and Fortune 50 firms, he combines entrepreneurial vision with operational excellence.
Andy Peat is a dynamic global fitness leader playing a key role in shaping the future direction of Snap Fitness, one of the world’s leading 24/7 fitness brands. With extensive experience across franchising, operations and international brand development, Andy brings a strong focus on member experience, innovation and sustainable growth across global markets.
Passionate about the evolving role fitness plays in people’s lives, Andy is focused on driving a more connected, holistic and accessible approach to wellbeing through community-led environments, flexible fitness solutions and enhanced in-club experiences. His vision centres on ensuring Snap Fitness continues to evolve alongside changing consumer expectations, combining convenience, technology and wellbeing to create spaces that support long-term member engagement and success.
Working closely with franchisees and leadership teams across the network, Andy is committed to strengthening Snap Fitness’ position as a forward-thinking global brand that delivers both exceptional member experiences and strong commercial performance.
Andy Swansburg is the Chief AI Officer at Xplor Technologies, focused on building AI-powered products, scalable platforms, and high-performing technology organizations across vertical SaaS.
Angel Bajana is the Founder and CEO of Elev8tion Fitness, a rapidly growing gym brand known for building high-performance training environments focused on results, efficiency, and experience. Since launching the company in 2017, he has expanded Elev8tion into multiple markets, including Miami, New York, and New Jersey, with several additional locations in development.
With over 20 years of experience across fitness, real estate, and business operations, Bajana has built a reputation for identifying overlooked opportunities and executing fast, disciplined turnarounds. His model centers on transforming second-generation spaces into fully optimized gyms, avoiding the inefficiencies of traditional big-box operations while maintaining a premium training standard.
Beyond the physical spaces, Bajana is deeply focused on culture, leadership, and systems that drive consistency across every location. He is known for his direct, no-excuses mindset and his ability to build teams that operate with urgency and accountability.
Through Elev8tion Fitness, Bajana continues to push a clear mission: create environments where people train with purpose, elevate their standards, and produce real results.
Anthony Geisler is the Founder and CEO of Sequel Brands, where he is leading the next evolution of performance, recovery, and longevity. Through a growing portfolio that includes Ultimate Longevity Center, Body20, beem Light Sauna, iFlex Stretch Studios, and Pilates Addiction, Geisler is advancing science-backed, community-driven wellness concepts designed to deliver sustainable, measurable results. His focus is on building innovative brands that help people optimize health, enhance performance, and improve quality of life.
Anton Severin serves as vice president of research at the Health & Fitness Association, where he leads the organization’s research strategy, data partnerships, and analytics initiatives across the full spectrum of issues shaping the health and fitness sector. Since joining HFA in 2024, Severin has expanded the association’s consumer, benchmarking, and advocacy research portfolio. He has launched long-term industry data tracking tools, including the Fitness Industry Traffic (FIT) Tracker, and developed new strategic resources, such as the State of the States: US Fitness Policy Update & Compliance Guide, to strengthen HFA’s role as an authoritative industry data and insights center. Previously, Severin served as director of research at the American Gaming Association in Washington, DC, and earlier worked as a communications consultant in Stockholm, Sweden, his country of birth.
Ashton McLeod is the Head of Food & Beverage at Orchestra, a communications firm built for the future that includes best-in-class agencies BerlinRosen, M18, Derris, and more. With over 15 years of experience, Ashton specializes in culinary communications at the intersection of hospitality, destination and tourism marketing, real estate, high-profile launches, nonprofits, aviation, and lifestyle brands.
Throughout her career, Ashton has led strategic communications and brand positioning for an acclaimed roster of clients including Chef Daniel Boulud, three-Michelin-starred restaurant Jungsik, Four Twenty Five by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Related Ross, Los Angeles Tourism, Baha Mar, Singapore Airlines, Food Network New York City Wine & Wine Festival, Chef Scott Conant, PopUp Bagels, Cafe Commerce, and more.
Known for building culturally relevant campaigns and driving impactful media visibility, Ashton brings deep expertise in shaping narratives for some of the hospitality and culinary industry’s most influential brands, chefs, and destinations.
Aundrea Bentley is the Director of Growth Marketing at [solidcore], a boutique fitness brand with 180+ studio locations across the United States. In her role, she leads paid media and sales strategy, blending advanced analytics with a deep interest in social conversation to drive acquisition, retention, and revenue growth at scale.
Aundrea brings a cross-disciplinary perspective shaped by over a decade spanning agency, consulting, and ad tech. Prior to joining [solidcore], she served as Head of Paid Social at media agency Crossmedia, where she led performance strategy for a portfolio of brands including Mini Cooper and Tinder. Earlier roles at Starcom and Basis further sharpened her expertise in media investment, audience strategy, and platform innovation.
Her work sits at the intersection of data-driven performance and culturally resonant marketing, helping brands build meaningful connections with clients at every stage of the funnel.
Brandon Dawson is a serial entrepreneur and one of the foremost voices in business scaling and enterprise value creation.
As founder of Audigy Group, he exited for $151 million at a 77× EBITDA multiple in 2016, then helped the acquiring public company add $3.5 billion in market value within 36 months. Earlier, he founded Sonus — a Warburg Pincus–backed company he took public at 29, one of the youngest founders ever to ring the opening bell.
Today, he is Co-Founder, Chairman, CEO, and Managing Partner of Cardone Ventures and 10X Health — a platform built alongside Natalie Dawson and Grant Cardone that scaled to 400+ employees, $750M+ in revenue, and $150M in EBITDA by end of 2025, without outside capital or debt. 10X Health redefines performance, longevity, and precision health through integrated diagnostics, precision nutrition, and advanced therapies.
Brandon Kaplan is the founder of Maxwell, a healthspan-focused venture firm and investment platform investing in companies disrupting preventitive health, across diagnostics, non tox cpg, AI in healthcare, and health tech. Maxwell brings together investors, founders, and strategic corporate partners to identify emerging opportunities and help shape the future of human healthspan.
Previously, Brandon co-founded Journey, an award-winning brand experience and innovation company that partnered with leading global brands including PepsiCo, the NBA, HBO, Warner Music Group, Pfizer, The Wall Street Journal, People, and Harry Potter. As Chief Innovation Officer, he helped build Journey into a high-growth platform at the intersection of culture, technology, and consumer engagement.
Today, Brandon focuses on backing founders, connecting strategic capital, and helping corporations understand where health, wellness, and preventative health markets are heading next. His work sits at the intersection of venture investing, corporate innovation, and the rapidly evolving healthspan economy.
Brian is an accomplished serial entrepreneur and innovator in multiple industries, with over 50 patents, and dozens of industry awards. He is the CEO and co-founder of Ammortal, a human optimization company with a mission to unlock each person’s most vibrant self. Ammortal’s flagship product, the Ammortal Chamber blends ancient wisdom with stacked, cutting-edge science, in harmony with the natural world. Brian was the co-founder & CEO of 180’s, the 9th fastest growing privately-held company in America, and went on to start companies in mobile tech, medical laboratory quality, e-learning and others. He is a Wharton MBA, and the past Entrepreneur-In-Residence at Sagamore Ventures and the Conscious Venture Lab. Brian loves exploring the intersection of quantum mechanics and the hermetic principles; and co-creating and co-arising with the like-minded.
Brian Smith is a Managing Director and member of the Piper Sandler consumer investment banking team focused on providing M&A advisory services to multi-unit companies in the consumer health and wellness services industry. Most recently, Mr. Smith served as lead advisor to EOS Fitness on its sale to TSG Consumer Partners, 24 Hour Fitness on its sale to LongRange Capital and GGSC on its sale to EOS Fitness. Mr. Smith has also advised many of the best-known names in fitness including Orangetheory Fitness, Pure Barre, [solidcore], Anytime Fitness, the Edge Fitness, VASA Fitness, Fitness Connection, Corepower Yoga, Club Pilates, Planet Fitness – to name a few. Prior to joining Piper Sandler, Smith was a partner and founding principal at Partnership Capital Growth, a boutique merchant bank. Mr. Smith has also worked in operations (EAS), consulting (Bain and Company) and private equity (North Castle Partners). Smith graduated from Claremont McKenna College with a bachelor's degree in economics.
Bryan is the President & Chief Executive Officer for [solidcore] and is an active [solidcore] Coach. In his role as CEO, Bryan is responsible for all aspects of delivering business performance, including [solidcore]’s national footprint growth and building a strong, inclusive community of clients and employees. Prior to joining the [solidcore] team in 2018, Bryan was a member of the leadership team of sweetgreen, the national leader in the healthy fast casual category. He joined sweetgreen in 2014 and, over the course of 4 years, wore many hats as he helped the company grow from a regional chain of 20 restaurants to almost 100 locations nationally. Bryan began his career as a consultant for The Boston Consulting Group, providing strategic advice on topics of growth, organizational design, and operational transformation.
Carl Daikeler has served as Chief Executive Officer of BODi, formerly Beachbody, since co-founding the company in 1998. A leader in home fitness for nearly three decades, he previously co-founded TelAmerica Media, where he created the fitness phenomenon 8 Minute Abs. Under his leadership, BODi has helped define the category of proactive wellness, delivering effective nutrition, supplements, and proven health and fitness programs that help people achieve their goals. Today, the company offers one of the industry’s most comprehensive fitness and nutrition ecosystems, with more than 140 programs, including breakout hits P90X and INSANITY. Daikeler also led the development of Shakeology in 2009 and BODi’s expansion into nutrition, and continues to drive its innovation pipeline today.
Beyond BODi, Daikeler is a three-time Tony Award-winning Broadway producer, with credits including Moulin Rouge!, Kinky Boots, Hadestown, and Once On This Island. He is also an active philanthropist supporting organizations such as International Justice Mission, Save-A-Warrior, and Hope the Mission. He earned a B.A. in Corporate Organizational Media from Ithaca College.
Carolina Moraes is a global marketing executive with over 20 years of experience building brands and driving growth across the fitness, lifestyle, and apparel industries. As Chief Marketing Officer at Zumba, she leads global brand strategy, integrated marketing, events, and partnerships, reaching consumers in more than 185 countries.
Driven by a deep passion for consumer insights and brand building, Carolina has a proven track record of launching and scaling marketing initiatives that strengthen brand relevance, deepen engagement, and deliver measurable business impact. She is known for translating cultural and consumer trends into compelling brand strategies and experiences that resonate across diverse audiences and markets.
Prior to Zumba, Carolina held senior marketing roles at Levi Strauss & Co. in Europe, where she played a key role in driving consumer demand and elevating brand equity across international markets. She began her career at Hill+Knowlton, leading strategic communications and PR programs for high-profile institutions, including the European Parliament.
Chad serves as Crunch’s Chief Marketing Officer and leads the brand’s marketing and communications efforts for all locations globally, focusing on strategically growing the company’s brand presence and member base while driving marketing innovation and brand loyalty. Chad previously held the title of Executive Vice President of Marketing and Branding at Crunch. Before joining Crunch, Chad served as Chief Marketing Officer for Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spas; Executive Marketing Advisor of Blink Fitness; Vice President of Global Marketing Strategy & Planning for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts; Vice President, Global Marketing for Disneyland Resort; Senior Vice President of Marketing, Sheraton Hotels & Resorts for Starwood Hotels & Resorts; and Senior Vice President Brand Management for Marriott International.
Charlene Wallace is a national leader advancing innovative, prevention-first approaches to chronic disease, with a singular focus on bending the curve on diabetes. She serves as Vice President of Diabetes Prevention at the American Diabetes Association, where she leads the organization’s strategy and execution for diabetes prevention, including oversight of the National Diabetes Prevention Program and evidence-based lifestyle change interventions.
With deep expertise in public health, program development, and evaluation, Charlene works at the intersection of prevention and systems change, partnering with employers, healthcare organizations, community-based providers, and policymakers to scale prevention and improve outcomes. Her work is grounded in a strong commitment to health equity, ensuring that prevention solutions reach populations that have been historically underrepresented and disproportionately affected by diabetes.
Charlene also leads the ADA’s backbone efforts for the Diabetes Prevention Alliance, a multi-sector network dedicated to building a sustainable, scalable ecosystem for the National DPP. Through collective impact and cross-industry collaboration, she helps translate prevention science into real-world solutions.
Chris Craytor is the CEO and founder of Welld Health, the only comprehensive electronic health record and billing clearinghouse designed to serve the needs of community-based organizations. Welld is the market-leading platform for third-party payments and health program integrations for community health providers such as fitness centers, YMCAs, JCCs, and pharmacies. Welld processes millions of dollars’ worth of health care transactions daily for its clients across the country and currently serves more than 12,000 locations.
Chris also serves as CEO of ACAC Fitness and Wellness Centers. Founded in 1984, ACAC is a chain of 14 first-class health and wellness facilities located in Virginia, Pennsylvania and South Carolina. Chris joined ACAC in 2004 and sets the strategic vision and direction for the organization and its 1,600 team members, with a particular focus on real estate, construction, finance, and sales.
In addition to his roles with ACAC and Welld Health, Chris served as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Health & Fitness Association (formerly IHRSA), the world’s largest fitness trade association.
Chris is a former litigation attorney and the Founder and CEO of LiveMetta Pilates and Yoga, a collection of 12 boutique studios in Southern California and an Inc. 5000 fastest growing company in the US for 2023, 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Chris and LiveMetta completed 7 acquisitions of Pilates and yoga studios (all of which have seen revenue growth ranging from 50% to over 300% post-acquisition), and are now scaling through the greenfield model.
LiveMetta's Pilates studios are proud STOTT Pilates Licensed Training Centers and LiveMetta has grown its education revenue by more than 120% over the last 3 years.
LiveMetta's culture is built on the principle of Loving-Kindness, or "metta." Chris believes in the power of the shared human experience and sees LiveMetta as vehicles to serve others. LiveMetta's mission is simple - to inspire love.
Chris and LiveMetta have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Inc. Magazine, the LA Times, and Chris frequently speaks at health and wellness conferences throughout the United States.
Chris brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in fitness, wellness, and hospitality operations. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President at Arch Amenities Group, where he oversaw nationwide teams and led significant business expansion. Known for his operational rigor, innovation, and team-building acumen, Chris will oversee all aspects of VASA’s business operations, including club execution, fitness operations, facilities management, and safety.
As COO, Chris will play a pivotal role in ensuring VASA continues to scale with consistency and excellence. His focus on operational discipline and efficiency will strengthen the company’s ability to deliver best-in-class member experiences while supporting future growth and expansion. His vision and energy will be instrumental in elevating VASA’s brand and operations to new levels of performance.
Chris Schlosser is an experienced leader focused on building new business and revenue opportunities for MLS and its 30 Clubs. Schlosser has a track record of developing, incubating and launching new business categories over his time at MLS.
Schlosser oversees the League's global media partnerships with Apple, Fox and IMG. Additionally Chris created the MLS Innovation Lab, a ground-breaking venture program designed to give the League a first look at promising young sports technology companies.
Previously at MLS, Schlosser launched comprehensive OTT partnerships, including MLS Live on ESPN+, the first full League partnership on ESPN's marquee streaming service. He also negotiated the League's first live streaming deal with Twitter and built and sold KICKTV in partnership with YouTube.
Schlosser joined the League in 2008 as the League’s first digital employee after consulting with the League on digital strategy while finishing his MBA at Columbia Business School. He was named to SportsBusiness Journal’s 2016 “Forty Under 40” class.
With over 25 years of experience in the fitness industry, Chris Smith has evolved from personal trainer to club operator to President & CEO of Fitness World — now leading 18 clubs and growing across Canada. Chris has spent his career committed to one core belief: fitness should be accessible to everyone. That philosophy shapes everything at Fitness World, from high-value, low-cost memberships serving 90,000 members, to programming designed to reduce the real-world health impacts of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and obesity. A builder by nature, Chris launched the British Columbia Personal Training Institute (BCPTI) in 2012 — a comprehensive program equipping the next generation of fitness professionals with both the science and the people skills to succeed. His passion for human performance and personal growth continues to drive Fitness World's expansion and its mission to make movement accessible for every body, at every stage of life.
Christian Drapeau is a scientist, author, medicinal plant expert, and pioneer in the field of stem cell research. He holds a graduate degree in Neurophysiology and has been involved in medical research for 30+ years, the last 20 specifically dedicated to stem cells. He pioneered the understanding that stem cells constitute the body’s natural healing and repair system, and has traveled the world in search of the most powerful plants that support stem cell function and enhance the body’s regenerative potential.
Having published scientific papers on brain research and the biological process he coined “Endogenous Stem Cell Mobilization” and having lectured in 50+ countries, Drapeau is known by scientists, physicians, and biohackers alike as an expert and pioneer of his field.
A scientific advisor to many companies, he is currently the Founder and Chief Science Officer at STEMREGEN where he developed the most potent natural stem cell supplement.
Christiane Pheil is a marketing executive, former professional rugby player, and business leader known for blending sports, culture, and brand strategy. She currently serves as Vice President of On Premise Marketing at Red Bull, where she leads national marketing efforts across hospitality, nightlife, festivals, fitness, collegiate, and experiential channels throughout North America.
Before transitioning into executive leadership, Pheil represented the United States as a member of the Women’s Eagles rugby team and competed internationally for nearly a decade, including selection to the 2017 Women’s Rugby World Cup squad. Her athletic background helped shape her leadership style, emphasizing resilience, performance, and team culture.
Pheil studied engineering at Pennsylvania State University after beginning her collegiate career at University of Colorado Boulder on a tennis scholarship. She later built a career spanning live events, experiential marketing, and commercial strategy, with a reputation for developing culture-first brand experiences and consumer engagement platforms at scale.
Cody Wayne Burkhart works at the intersection of engineering, neuroscience, and human performance. He spent nearly two decades at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, supporting astronaut readiness and leading projects including the Advanced Resistive Exercise Device and the KRAKN analytics system aboard the International Space Station. He also served as chief of the HumanWorks Lab, where he brought together sensing, simulation, and biomechanics to study how people perform in demanding environments. Trained in aerospace and mechanical engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder, with a master’s in Neuroscience & Behavior from the University of Houston–Clear Lake, his work has extended beyond space into collaborations with special operations units, professional athletes, and performance-focused teams. He is a co-founder of Anthropy Partners and continues to work across government, research, and industry, focused on how we expand human capability in a world increasingly shaped by advanced technology—without losing the human in the process. At the center of that work is a long-view belief that the tools we build should help future generations, including his own children, become more capable, adaptive, and deeply human.
Cody Patrick is the Co-founder and CEO of SWEAT440 as well as the Founder of SHIFT Personal Training studio. Cody has led SWEAT440 to 31 open locations and more than 160 franchise locations sold and in development in the past 6 years. Prior to SWEAT440 he founded SHIFT personal training studio and grew it to be the largest personal training facility in Miami.
Cody was born and raised in Wyoming where grew up as a rancher, multi sport athlete, and academic standout. He holds degrees in Exercise Physiology and Biomechanics as well as a multitude of certifications in health and wellness modalities. Upon graduation he went to work in the cruise line industry which landed him in Miami after being promoted to the head office for One Spa World where he cut his teeth in the business world. Cody eventually followed his entrepreneurial spirit and founded SHIFT in 2010 and SWEAT440 in 2018.
In addition to his role as SWEAT440’s CEO, Cody also sits on multiple boards and advisory roles within the fitness and technology industries as well as within the Miami Beach community.
Daniel Mazini is the Chief Partnerships Officer at Wellhub. He is a business and product leader with 24+ years of experience in technology, e-commerce, and consulting. He spent over 14 years at Amazon, where he led the launch and expansion of Amazon Brazil, scaling the business from its inception and becoming country manager of http://amazon.com.br/ in 2021.
Danny Dulkin is President of LIVunLtd's Development Services platform, bringing over a decade of progressive leadership in the design, development, and operations of fitness, wellness and aquatics facilities across diverse industry verticals. He has overseen the successful delivery of over 500 turnkey wellness amenity projects, including dozens of award-winning and Fortune 500 projects nationwide. Danny is a lifelong athlete with experience at the collegiate and professional levels, he holds a B.S. in Exercise Science, as well as a PMP certification.
David Harry Stewart is a media innovator and passionate advocate for redefining aging through the lens of longevity and the psychology of human motivation. With decades of high-profile creative experience and a bold personal philosophy on living fully, David launched AGEIST and Super Age to champion imagination, curiosity, and the science of living long while living well.
A leading authority on the aspirations of the modern 50+ community, David is a frequent speaker at global forums and conferences, where he shares insights on longevity, wellness, and purposeful living. Grounded in a decade of deep exploration and proprietary research, his work uncovers what truly drives behavior, well-being, and meaningful change.
Dion Camp Sanders has served as Peloton’s Chief Commercial Officer since April 2025. As the Chief Commercial Officer, he has P&L responsibility for many of Peloton’s revenue generating lines of business, including first-party and third-party retail, inside sales, Peloton Bike rental and sales of pre-owned refurbished equipment, international strategy and operations, Peloton for Business B2B channels, Precor, and the M&A and business development functions.
Prior to his appointment as Chief Commercial Officer, Sanders served as Peloton’s Chief Emerging Business Officer from September 2022 through April 2025, Chief Strategy Officer from August 2021 through September 2022, and SVP, Head of Strategy, Corporate Development and M&A from January 2019 through April 2021.
Prior to joining Peloton in 2019, Sanders held various executive positions within the consumer internet and digital media sectors, including roles serving as EVP, Corporate Development at Leaf Group, 4.5 years serving as VP, Emerging Businesses at The Walt Disney Company, and a 5-year stint within operating businesses of IAC/InterActiveCorp.
In addition to his role at Peloton, Sanders also sits on the Board of Directors at Hyatt Hotels Corporation and the Board of Directors at Daily Harvest, Inc.
With a 15-year background in traditional sports agency marketing, I joined the founding team of HYROX to help expand the concept and brand beyond Germany, leading the day-to-day execution across new international markets.
Currently, I oversee all non-participation revenue streams while driving the development and growth of HYROX365 as a comprehensive training and technology platform, now serving more than 15,000 fitness locations worldwide.
Dr. Drew Taylor is the Co-Founder and CEO of Acorn Biolabs, a company pioneering personalized regenerative medicine through non-invasive cell preservation and biologically driven therapies. With a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Toronto, his work focuses on stem cell biology, tissue regeneration, and translating advanced science into real-world applications.
Dr. Taylor began his career in regenerative medicine research before an injury ended his professional baseball career, shaping his interest in recovery, performance, and long-term health. He founded Acorn Biolabs to address a fundamental challenge in aging: the decline in cellular quality over time. The company enables individuals to bank their own young, healthy hair follicle cells, creating a foundation for future personalized treatments.
Under his leadership, Acorn has developed the first autologous, cell-derived secretome for use in aesthetics and is advancing toward regulated cell-based therapies for broader applications in longevity, orthopedics, and beyond. Dr. Taylor is a recognized voice in the convergence of biotechnology, performance, and preventative health, with a focus on making regenerative medicine more accessible and personalized.
Dr. Elizabeth Yurth is a double board–certified physician in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Anti-Aging/Regenerative Medicine with over three decades of experience across orthopedics, sports medicine, cellular medicine, hormone optimization, and peptide therapeutics. As Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of the Boulder Longevity Institute—founded 20 years ago and among the world’s earliest full-spectrum longevity clinics—she integrates translational science with clinical practice, emphasizing patient safety, mitochondrial repair, and the evidence-informed use of emerging biologics. Widely recognized as one of the earliest U.S. educators in peptide medicine, Dr. Yurth has played a foundational role in developing clinical frameworks, safety protocols, and mechanistic models for the responsible therapeutic use of peptides, while helping pioneer the clinical adoption of lifestyle medicine, hormone therapy, peptide therapy, novel small molecules, and regenerative treatments.
Renowned as a pioneer in integrative and functional medicine, Dr. Frank Lipman is the founder of the Eleven Eleven Wellness Center, where he currently practices. He has a consulting company, consulting to a number of health-focused companies, and also serves as Chief Medical Officer at The Well. Specializing in longevity medicine and health optimization, he works closely with patients using cutting-edge diagnostics and treatments to design tailor-made plans for long and healthy lives. A New York Times bestselling author, Dr. Lipman has written seven health-focused books, including The New Rules of Aging Well and How to Be Well.
Dr. Jeffrey Bland is a globally recognized thought leader who has spent more than four decades advancing the science of human health. Widely regarded as a pioneer of Functional Medicine, Dr. Bland has championed a systems-biology approach to care grounded in personalized, research-driven lifestyle interventions. His work led to the creation of both the Personalized Lifestyle Medicine Institute (PLMI) and the Institute for Functional Medicine (IFM), now the global leader in Functional Medicine education.
Dr. Bland began his career as a Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Puget Sound. In the early 1980s, he was selected by two-time Nobel Laureate Dr. Linus Pauling to serve as Director of Nutritional Research at the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine—an experience that shaped his lifelong focus on science-based nutrition and preventive health.
An author of best-selling books and more than 120 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Bland continues to mentor industry leaders and speak globally. Through Big Bold Health, he now focuses on immuno-rejuvenation, regenerative agriculture, and advancing immune resilience at both individual and global levels.
Dr. Hagen (B.S., M.S., Ph.D. in Chemical and Materials Engineering) has over two decades of experience in biosensors and 15 years in human performance research across the Air Force Research Laboratory, West Virginia University, and The Ohio State University. His work focuses on optimizing performance in athletes, military personnel, clinical populations, and the general public through integrated physiological monitoring, advanced data analytics, and recovery and augmentation strategies.
He serves as Faculty Director of the Human Performance Collaborative (HPC) at The Ohio State University, where he leads research in Sport and Tactical Performance Science and Recovery Science. His teams conduct both laboratory and field-based studies using multimodal data, including heart rate, HRV, sleep, biomarkers, biomechanics, cognitive testing, and aerobic/anaerobic performance assessments. Through rigorous study design and innovative analytics, HPC translates complex data into actionable insights to enhance health, readiness, and performance.
Dr. Hagen’s mission is to advance and operationalize human performance science to improve outcomes for athletes, warfighters, patients, and broader populations, bridging research and real-world impact through translational science.
Dr. Renae Jacob, MD, MPH, is a triple board-certified physician in Family Medicine, General Preventive Medicine and Public Health, and Lifestyle Medicine, and is an ACLM Lifestyle Medicine Intensivist. She currently serves as the Medical Director at Lifeforce, which powers the Ultimate Longevity Centers’ Clinical care.
Dr. Jacob earned her medical degree with honors from Monash University in Australia, and completed her residency, and Masters of Public Health, at Loma Linda University in Southern California. Prior to becoming a Physician, she was an IFBB bodybuilder, and exercise physiologist for competitive and professional athletes.
Edgard Corona, a chemical engineer and fitness industry entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience, is the founder and Chairman of Grupo Smart Fit. In 1996, he launched the Bio Ritmo gym chain and, in 2009, introduced the high value, low cost fitness concept to Brazil with Smart Fit. The group is the leader in Latin America, with more than 2,000 units across 16 countries. Over 5.2 million Latin Americans take care of their health at Grupo Smart Fit's gyms, which owns the brands Bio Ritmo, Nation CT, Velocity, the wellness aggregator TotalPass, and others. Edgard has been recognized as the winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Master Category, granted by Ernst & Young, and was named one of the best CEOs in Brazil by Forbes in 2025.
Eduardo Montefusco is an Italian entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of FitActive, one of the fastest-growing fitness chains in Europe. He launched the company in 2007 at the age of 26 with a clear vision: to make fitness accessible, affordable, and welcoming for everyone.
Under his leadership, FitActive has expanded into a nationwide network of more than 200 clubs, serving over 500,000 members and setting new standards in the fitness industry. Montefusco has built the brand around innovation, customer satisfaction, and a strong people-first culture, transforming FitActive into a recognized leader in the sector.
Known for his entrepreneurial mindset and relentless determination, he inspires both his team and aspiring business leaders through his personal motto, “If you run, you can make it.” His leadership philosophy is rooted in responsibility, continuous improvement, and the belief that motivation and hard work can turn ambitious goals into reality.
Today, Eduardo Montefusco is widely regarded as a visionary entrepreneur whose mission extends beyond fitness: helping people improve their lives and “train happiness,” the registered motto that defines the FitActive brand.
Edward Hertzman is a serial entrepreneur who has launched multiple businesses across several industry verticals including media, fitness, wellness and sourcing. He is also a subject matter expert who has become the voice for the industries he has served. An early-stage investor in promising startups, he has contributed to their growth and value creation.
His latest venture, Athletech News is a response to the fitness industry’s need for community,
representation and a seat at the table. Much like sourcing more than a decade ago, fitness and wellness has been a fragmented, under-valued, and under-reported industry, with little transparency into the robust investments occurring in the space, or the dynamic leaders that drive these businesses. Athletech News answers to this need.
Prior to Hertzman’s latest venture, following several years on the ground as a supply chain executive, Hertzman founded Sourcing Journal in 2009. Today, Sourcing Journal is the world’s largest trade publication devoted to sourcing and supply chain in the apparel and textiles industry. In 2017, Hertzman sold the company to Penske Media Group. He remained on board as President for 5 years, during which time he was promoted to EVP of all Fairchild Media Titles, tasked with growing their portfolio of publications, while continuing to lead day-to-day operations at Sourcing Journal.
In 2023, Hertzman left Penske to launch his next media enterprise, Athletech Media Group. It has quickly become the media of record for the fitness and wellness industry with more than 100,000 subscribers signing on since its debut.
Hertzman continues to consult for several retail and supply chain companies and through his
company, Hertzman Global Ventures, he has made targeted investments in both PE funds and supply chain tech companies including Active Source Lab.
Hertzman is also a sought-after speaker, sharing his expertise at leading industry conferences and events. His innovative leadership has helped shape the way the industry approaches sustainability, commercial compliance, and global sourcing strategies.
Hertzman received a degree in economics from NYU and spent more than a decade working in top-level executive positions for major sourcing companies worldwide, including Synergies Worldwide and Pearl Global. He also sits on the Board for Delivering Good, a charitable organization that channels the resources of the fashion industry to those in need.
Efonda Sproles, brings over 40yrs of leadership in fitness, talent strategy, and people development. A founding leader in Life Time's early growth, he helped shape it's NorthStar mission, led major market expansions, and founded the company's Scouting Division - an industry leading approach in identifying and attracting elite talent. A certified executive coach and champion of servant leadership, Efonda is known for building high performing teams, elevating hospitality, company culture, and supporting leaders who drive the member experience.
Eric Casaburi is one of the most experienced operators at the intersection of fitness, franchising, and longevity. He founded Retro Fitness, scaling it into one of the largest gym franchises in the United States, and now serves as Founder and CEO of Serotonin Centers — a national longevity and hormone-optimization franchise built around the premise that healthspan, not just lifespan, is the next great consumer category.
Over 25 years, Eric has built two category-defining businesses, advised dozens of franchise operators, and has become a leading voice on why longevity services — hormone optimization, peptides, IV therapy, red light, GLP-1s, recovery — are the next billion-dollar franchise vertical.
He hosts Eric's Longevity Lab Podcast, where he interviews top clinicians, researchers, and practitioners in the longevity space, and is the author of "Just Make Money". His past media includes CNBC's Undercover Boss, MSNBC's Your Business, Fox Business, and Cheddar.
Eric lives in Florida with his wife Kim and their four children.
Eric Malzone is a fitness industry entrepreneur, analyst, and media figure who has spent 15+ years at the intersection of fitness, technology, and business innovation.
After a decade in corporate America, Eric founded CrossFit Pacific Coast in 2008, followed by Lighthouse Fitness in 2015. He sold both gyms in 2017 and shifted his focus to media, consulting, and connecting the people actually moving the industry forward. These days he operates out of Whitefish, Montana, which is every bit as good as it sounds.
He's the host of the Future of Fitness podcast, now nine years in and approaching 1,000 interviews with leaders ranging from personal trainers to Fortune 500 executives. It's been a top-rated B2B show for five consecutive years. He also co-hosts Athletech Unscripted.
Eric is co-founder and CEO of The Podcast Collective, a strategic media agency focused on earned media, authority building, branded content, and partnership development. Current clients include Myzone, Sleep Cycle, Centr, STEMREGEN, etc.
His whole thing is helping the industry skate to where the puck is going.
Fabien Odry is the Director of Sales and Marketing at Aman New York, bringing over two decades of international experience in luxury hospitality. His career spans key global destinations, including the French Riviera, Washington, D.C., and New York City, where he has developed a strong expertise in positioning ultra-luxury properties within competitive markets.
At Aman New York, Fabien has played a pivotal role in establishing the property as one of the city’s most exclusive urban destinations. He leads the sales and marketing strategy with a focus on cultivating long-term relationships, driving revenue growth, and maintaining the brand’s distinct positioning rooted in discretion and personalized service.
Known for his relationship-driven approach, Fabien has worked closely with high-profile clientele, including diplomatic and private sectors, and has built a reputation for delivering tailored experiences that reflect the expectations of the luxury market.
His leadership style emphasizes empathy, authenticity, and team development, fostering a culture centered on trust and meaningful connections. Through this approach, he continues to shape Aman New York’s identity as a refined urban sanctuary, blending the brand’s signature serenity with the energy of Manhattan.
Frank Britt is CEO of Aescape, Senior Advisor at Valor Equity Partners, and Senior Partner in the Schultz Family Office. He previously served as EVP and Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer at Starbucks, leading Corporate Strategy, Enterprise Transformation, Workforce Experience, Business Intelligence & Analytics, and Corporate Services through a major digital and operational turnaround. Before that, he was CEO of Penn Foster, a leading social mobility and employment platform.
A seasoned operator at the intersection of consumer tech, AI, and human capital, Frank brings deep expertise in scaling tech-enabled businesses — honed through roles at Valor, Bain Capital Ventures, and as a PE-backed CEO. At Aescape, he's driving the mission to deliver AI-powered, personalized restorative massage through advanced robotics and make wellness accessible to all in the $4 trillion market.
A blood cancer survivor fueled by a generous donor, faith, family, and friends, Frank lives in New York City with the love of his life and is a devoted dad to his wonderful grown children.
Fritz Lanman is the CEO and Co-Founder of Playlist, the parent company of Mindbody, ClassPass, Booker, and EGYM. Following Mindbody's acquisition of ClassPass in 2021, Fritz served as CEO of the combined companies, and in June 2025, launched Playlist to bring the brands together under one parent company. As Founding Chairman and former CEO of ClassPass, Fritz has spent more than a decade shaping the fitness and wellness industry. Fritz grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and went on to study at Yale. He launched his career at Microsoft, where he held multiple Product Management and Corporate Strategy positions. There, he played a pivotal role in several major deals including Microsoft’s multi-million-dollar investment in Facebook. These experiences sparked an interest in tech and entrepreneurship, and Fritz began angel investing in 2010. In 2013, he led the seed and Series A financing rounds for ClassPass, helping the founders build the company. Beyond Playlist, Fritz has also backed Square, Pinterest, Wish, and several other successful companies. Before ClassPass, Fritz founded Livestar, Verst, and Doppler Labs.
Greg Scheinman is the founder and CEO of Midlife Male, the premiere digital publication & lifestyle brand “For Midlife Men, By Midlife Men” committed to maximizing midlife. He is the author of the bestselling book The Midlife Male, a dynamic keynote speaker with a focus on transformation and redefining success, personal coach to accomplished midlife CEO’s, executives and founders and an entrepreneur with two successful exits. A real life example, Greg has been featured in The WSJ, Esquire, Men's Health & The NY Times. Most importantly, he’s a husband and father.
Greg Waibel is Chief Operating Officer of YMCA of the USA, the national resource office for the country’s largest community-based health and wellness organization. Greg helps guide a federated network serving more than 17 million people annually through fitness, preventive health, youth development, and community well-being programs operating at national scale.
A focus of YMCA of the USA’s strategy is addressing social isolation—now recognized as a critical public health and economic challenge—by intentionally creating connected communities. Greg leads efforts that leverage data, physical infrastructure, trusted local relationships, and partnerships to drive measurable outcomes related to achievement, relationships and belonging. This work sits at the intersection of wellness, healthcare, technology, and community connection.
Prior to joining YMCA of the USA, Greg served as President and CEO of the YMCA of Honolulu, where he guided the organization to advancing innovation in mental health, wellness access, and addressing critical community needs.
Earlier in his career, Greg held senior operating, financial, and technology leadership roles across some of the nation’s largest YMCAs and spent more than a decade in for profit executive roles focused on operations, finance, and M&A.
Greta Wagner is the Interim President and CEO of the Health & Fitness Association and a respected leader in the fitness industry. With more than 35 years of experience in executive leadership, operations, business development, and industry advocacy, she brings deep expertise to the role. Before joining HFA, Wagner served as Executive Director and Executive Vice President of Chelsea Piers Athletic Club and Senior Vice President of Chelsea Piers Management, where she oversaw the growth and success of the company’s 500,000-plus-square-foot Connecticut facility.
During her 30-year tenure with Chelsea Piers, Wagner led major growth initiatives, management development programs, and large-scale operational projects, across the organization, including the restoration of Chelsea Piers NY following Superstorm Sandy. A longtime advocate for the industry, she also served on the HFA Board of Directors from 2019 to 2024. Wagner remains a thought leader committed to advancing the future of health and fitness.
I am the President and Chief Revenue Officer of Intrepid XXII, a sports marketing and commercial partnerships agency specializing in sponsorship sales, partnership activation, and revenue strategy across professional and emerging sports properties.
I've built a career at the intersection of sports, media, and business development. I have a proven track record of generating commercial value for some of the most recognizable brands and organizations in sports. My experience spans across the NFL, collegiate athletics, professional golf and wellness. I've held partnership roles with the Chicago Bears, Learfield Sports, and the PGA TOUR before founding Intrepid XXII.
Intrepid XXII is the agency of record and lead commercial partnerships for our athletes, and a portfolio of dynamic sports properties, including LIV Golf franchise OKGC, the PBR's Oklahoma Wildcatters, Sports Fishing Championship's MS Blues, and the World Fitness Project. My experience encompasses sponsorship sales, pitch development, partner activation, event strategy, and investor relations.
Jack joined Princeton in 2021 and focuses on sourcing and executing transactions. He also provides operating support to our portfolio companies. Prior to Princeton, Jack was at Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors working on special situations transactions. Before Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors, Jack was at J.F. Lehman & Company executing investments in the aerospace & defense and industrial services sectors. Jack began his career as an analyst at Morgan Stanley in the Financial Sponsors and Western Region Coverage groups.
Jack’s current investments include Barry’s, The International Franchise Professionals Group (IFPG), Stretch Zone, and D1 Training.
Jamie Mark spent over a decade at Soho House, where she focused on membership and cultural programming. She joined Proper Hospitality in 2024 to lead the development of its wellness and cultural membership initiatives across the portfolio.
Her work is centered on building a cohesive membership platform that connects guests and locals through a shared interest in wellbeing, programming, partnerships, and experiences. She also oversees wellness initiatives across Proper’s properties, including Recovery Rooms, Retreats, and practitioner residencies, integrating wellbeing into both the hotel experience and the broader membership offering. In addition, Jamie leads PR and external communications and partnerships.
She is based in Lake Tahoe with her family, where Proper is developing Lake Tahoe Proper, set to open in 2027 at the historic Cal Neva site.
Jason Breazeale is Vice President of Technology at Burn Boot Camp, a national fitness franchise with 450+ locations, more than 155,000 active members, and an incredible growth plan for the years ahead. He leads digital innovation, enterprise technology, data strategy, and AI enablement, with a focus on turning emerging technology into practical business value.
With more than 25 years of technology leadership experience, Jason’s work centers on building scalable platforms, stronger data foundations, and AI-powered tools that improve decision-making, franchise performance, and member experiences. He is passionate about cutting through the AI noise — distilling the hype into real, usable solutions that drive operational impact, human-centered innovation, and scalable growth.
Jay Siano is a visionary entrepreneur, commercial real estate strategist, and wellness industry leader based in New York. With over two decades of experience, he has played a transformative role in the growth and evolution of some of the world’s most iconic brands. From industry giants like Chipotle and Starbucks to cutting-edge wellness concepts such as Orangetheory Fitness, [solidcore], Y7, European Wax Center, Massage Envy, Equinox/Blink Fitness, Barry’s, Sweat440, SWTHZ and Pura Vida, Jay’s strategic insights and brand expertise have been pivotal in shaping their trajectories.
Jeff Sanders is the Chief Growth Officer and partner at Energy Fitness, which has five locations on Long Island, NY, and offers a unique approach to fitness. Jeff blends his various experiences with marketing, sales, business development, and finance to create and achieve business strategic objectives while also determining which strategies are not yielding results so they can be swiftly adjusted or replaced. Jeff also serves as an officer on the board of the Health & Fitness Association.
At Life Time, I served as President and Chief Operating Officer for 25 years, helping scale the company into one of the leading health and wellness brands in North America.
I later played a key role in developing and scaling the MIORA Longevity & Performance initiative, positioning the organization at the forefront of personalized wellness and healthcare integration.
Currently, as President and COO of 10X Health, I am focused on rebuilding and scaling a precision health platform—modernizing the demand engine, strengthening the end-to-end customer experience, and expanding beyond single-product dependency into a more durable, integrated offering. I am a growth-oriented operator and strategic leader with over three decades of experience building, scaling, and transforming businesses in the fitness, wellness, and emerging healthcare sectors.
My work has consistently focused on evolving consumer-facing health platforms from fragmented offerings into integrated, high-value ecosystems that drive revenue growth, deepen customer engagement, and create durable competitive advantage.
Jeffrey is an entrepreneur and entertainment industry executive who has reshaped the media landscape throughout his career. Today, he is a Founding Partner at WndrCo, an investment company focused on supporting founders who are building category-defining companies. Jeffrey works closely with WndrCo portfolio companies Aura, Airtable, Alembic, Netomi and Writer, among others.
Prior to WndrCo, Jeffrey co-founded DreamWorks, serving as CEO of DreamWorks Animation, which he grew into the world’s largest animation studio. Before founding DreamWorks, Jeffrey was Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios and previously served as President of Production at Paramount Studios.
Jeffrey is a donor and board member to many civic organizations, including University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts, The Simon Wiesenthal Center, California Institute of the Arts, and is on the Board of Directors for Olympics LA28. Among his many awards and recognitions, he has received the Palme d’Or from the Cannes Film Festival, the Motion Picture Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, the National Medal of Arts, and the TIME100 Impact Award.
Jenna Morris is the Vice President of Training & Experience for Club Pilates, the largest Pilates brand in the world, where she leads the strategy, development, and delivery of training and member experience initiatives across a global network of studios and educators. Over the past 12 years with Club Pilates and Xponential Fitness brands, Jenna has played a key role in shaping instructor education, studio support systems, and high-impact training experiences that drive both retention and revenue.
With nearly 20 years in the fitness and wellness industry, Jenna brings a unique perspective that bridges instructor development, customer experience, and large-scale brand growth. Her background spans yoga, Pilates, leadership development, retreat and event design, and training systems built to support thousands of instructors and studio teams.
Known for blending operational strategy with human-centered experience design, Jenna is passionate about what keeps members coming back, what makes instructors exceptional, and how innovation can elevate the future of boutique fitness.
Jennifer Holzworth is the Senior Corporate Director of Spa Operations for Montage International, overseeing the wellness vision and guest experience strategy for Montage and Pendry Hotels & Resorts. With over 20 years of luxury hospitality expertise, and experience as a licensed massage therapist and esthetician, she is known for shaping innovative, high‑impact spa and wellbeing programs across globally recognized five‑star properties.
A member of the ISPA Board of Directors, Jennifer is a leading voice in the evolution of wellness travel, with a focus on recovery, and transformational guest experiences. Her work explores what today’s luxury guest is seeking and how brands can thoughtfully integrate wellness modalities while preserving authentic human connection.
Jeremy Mustakas is an American hospitality executive and restaurant operator best known for his leadership role at Jean-Georges Restaurants, where he currently serves as Chief Operating Officer, overseeing restaurant operations, development, and global expansion initiatives across the company’s portfolio.
Mustakas began his career in New York’s restaurant industry with a strong foundation in wine and beverage, serving as a wine director before expanding into broader leadership roles in restaurant operations and development. His early experience in dining rooms and beverage programs helped shape a hospitality philosophy centered on service, detail, and guest experience. Throughout his career, he has also been involved in concepts exploring the intersection of wellness, lifestyle, and modern hospitality, with an emphasis on thoughtful dining experiences.
His experience spans fine dining, lifestyle hospitality, and international restaurant development, with a focus on operational excellence, team culture, and long-term brand growth.
Known for combining operational discipline with a thoughtful approach to hospitality, Mustakas has helped guide the continued growth and evolution of some of the industry’s most recognized restaurant concepts.
Jess Yuan is a Partner at Founders Row, a growth platform focused on partnering with and incubating high-growth experiential consumer brands. Founders Row was founded by Jamie Weeks, who previously built and scaled two health and wellness concepts: SweatHouz, the 100+ location private contrast therapy brand, and the largest Orangetheory Fitness franchise in the world.
Jess brings deep investment experience across the consumer landscape, with a particular focus on health and wellness, multi-unit businesses, franchising, and consumer services. She began her career in investment banking before moving into private equity, most recently at Freeman Spogli, a middle market consumer-focused fund with offices in Los Angeles and New York. She served on the board of VIO Med Spa, among other investments.
Jess holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia's McIntire School of Commerce and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Jill Brand is the Head of Brand, Content, and Creative at PVOLVE where she leads global brand strategy, marketing, and creative direction for the fast-growing movement longevity brand. She has played a key role in shaping PVOLVE's identity and expansion, overseeing campaigns, partnerships, and community engagement initiatives, including high-profile collaborations such as the brand’s partnership with Jennifer Aniston.
Jim Pisani is the Chief Executive Officer, President, and Board Director of Life Fitness, whose portfolio of brands - Life Fitness, Hammer Strength, Cybex, ICG®, and SCIFIT - serves more than 250,000 fitness facilities across more than 160 countries. Since joining in 2023, he has led one of the fitness industry's most significant post-pandemic transformations, restoring market leadership, launching the groundbreaking Symbio cardio line, and fostering a culture centered on servant leadership and healthier living.
Mr. Pisani brings more than 30 years of executive leadership across global consumer, sports, and lifestyle brands. He previously served as Chief Executive Officer of the Outdoor & Recreation division at Newell Brands, overseeing brands including Coleman, Contigo and Marmot; Global Brand President of Timberland at VF Corporation, and as President of VF Licensed Sports Group - oversaw major league partnerships with NFL, NBA, MLB and NHL; and held leadership roles at PepsiCo and Kraft Foods. A former NCAA Division I soccer captain and coach, he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences from Northern Illinois University, and an MBA from Lewis University, and is based in Chicago.
Joella Hopkins is the Executive Vice President of Group Fitness at EoS Fitness and a 35+ year industry veteran known for pushing boundaries and redefining what group fitness and small group training can be. She has built her career at the highest levels of the business, turning big ideas into scalable, high-impact programming that drives both results and revenue.
At EoS Fitness, Joella is the force behind some of the brand's most talked-about concepts including BBL (Booty Builder Lab), FU (Fitness Unchained), Mind/Body Rehab, and (Contender's Corner). Her latest venture focuses on bringing a fresh, elevated take to Pilates reformer training. She has trained hundreds of coaches across the company, helping transform traditional group fitness into a dynamic, boutique-style experience within a high value model.
Know for her candid leadership style and relentless focus on innovation, Joella is passionate about creating fitness experiences that are as effective as they are engaging. Outside the gym, she's a devoted animal lover.
John has over 30 years of experience in the fitness and franchising business and has signed more than 50 development agreements across multiple countries and continents. John is currently the Managing Director of International Development for Crunch Fitness (www.crunch.com) and is focused on bringing the Crunch "No Judgments" experience to new countries worldwide.
From 2018 to 2024, John was the Chief International Development Officer for Xponential Fitness, a multi-brand franchisor in the health and wellness space with brands including Club Pilates, Pure Barre and others.
Prior to Xponential Fitness, John was the Vice President of International Franchise Development for Self-Esteem Brands (now Purpose Brands), the franchisor of Anytime Fitness.
Before joining Self-Esteem Brands in 2008, John spent 3 years developing a start-up franchise in Brazil, and from 1992 until 2004, John was the Director of International Development for the Health & Fitness Association (previously IHRSA).
John Scheer is the Co‑Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Herman‑Scheer, a strategic branding consultancy known for building and transforming the brands that keep generations healthier. For more than 14 years, John has partnered with founders, executives, and investors to reposition companies at pivotal moments, from early traction to category leadership.
His work spans health, wellness, longevity, and performance‑driven brands, where he blends management consulting rigor with creative systems that drive trust, adoption, and long‑term growth. John is particularly interested in how a brand operates as infrastructure, influencing hiring, culture, capital, and outcomes, not just aesthetics.
Today, he speaks and writes about brand as strategy, the future of health‑first businesses, and what it takes to build companies designed to last.
Jordan Bargas is Executive Vice President at Related Ross, where he leads major mixed-use developments and acquisitions across Palm Beach County. Since joining Related Companies in 2015, Jordan has advanced through senior roles in New York and South Florida, overseeing strategy and execution of transformative projects spanning office, residential, hospitality and mixed-use asset classes.
Jordan played a key role in marquee projects including Hudson Yards in New York, the largest private real estate development in U.S. history. Now back in his native Palm Beach County, he plays a central role in shaping Related Ross’ South Florida expansion, delivering generational projects that support economic growth while forging strategic partnerships in education, healthcare, transportation, and entertainment. His leadership emphasizes long-term strategic vision, architectural excellence, sustainable development, and meaningful community impact.
In addition to his development work, Jordan chairs the Related Ross Foundation, guiding the company’s philanthropic and community initiatives across Palm Beach County. He also serves on the boards of the Dolphins Cancer Challenge and the Cox Science Center and Aquarium.
Josh Liberatore, the executive editor of Athletech News, is a New York-based journalist and media professional with deep experience covering business, technology, and the industries shaping modern culture. Before joining ATN, Josh held editor and senior reporter roles at Sports Business Journal and Law360, helping to grow the leading trade publications for the sports and legal industries, respectively. Josh has a BA from the University of Pittsburgh and speaks fluent French.
Judy is the CEO of Jack Taylor, a global strategic communications agency. She previously served as COO of Equinox and prior to that, CAO and head of legal at Blackstone Real Estate. Judy started her career as a real estate lawyer at Wachtell Lipton.
Julia Sublett is a Principal at Snapdragon Capital Partners, a growth equity and buyout firm purpose-built for ambitious companies cherished by the modern consumer. As part of Snapdragon's founding team, Julia leads investments across consumer services, CPG, beauty, child enrichment, and health and wellness — bringing a hands-on approach to sourcing / diligence, strategy, and value creation.
Snapdragon manages over $1 billion in AUM and has built a distinguished track record partnering with category-defining businesses including Xponential Fitness, JECT, Fullscript, and Spartan Fitness Holdings. Julia currently serves on the boards of Spartan Fitness Holdings, Better Being Co., JECT, and Fortis Franchise Group.
Prior to Snapdragon, Julia was an investor at Silversmith Capital Partners, a software- and healthcare-focused growth equity firm, where she led financial and operational diligence and supported portfolio companies on M&A and strategy. Earlier in her career, she worked in investment banking at Barclays focused on tech, media, and telecom and healthcare.
Julia is particularly interested in the intersection of performance, wellness, and consumer behavior – in addition to the emerging technologies enabling the next generation of category disrupting consumer brands.
Kameron Kicklighter is Co-Founder and Vice President of WeGym, a strength training brand built for real life, not just the gym floor. He leads brand, product, and U.S. operations, helping scale WeGym from early-stage startup to a multi-channel business serving both home users and professional fitness spaces.
His work focuses on rethinking how strength equipment looks, feels, and fits into people’s lives, especially for women who have historically been overlooked in fitness design and research. Under his leadership, WeGym has expanded across DTC, retail, and wholesale, while building a community-driven approach that connects product, education, and storytelling.
Kameron brings a mix of creative direction and operational execution, with a strong emphasis on building brands people actually care about. He is known for his human-first leadership style and his ability to bridge product innovation with cultural relevance.
At Athletech Summit, Kameron will share insights on brand building, product strategy, and the future of strength training as it becomes more inclusive, design-forward, and community-driven.
Karl Foster is Head of AI at Perfect Gym, one of the world's largest fitness technology providers, where he leads a team building next-generation AI products for gym and health club operators worldwide.
With over a decade in the fitness industry across the UAE and Middle East, Karl previously served as CTO of one of the region's largest gym chains — where he was among the first to deploy production AI systems at scale, including voice AI agents and SMART billing.
Karl brings a rare three-lens perspective: hands-on operator, production AI builder, and academic researcher. He is currently completing an MBA focused on AI ROI in business — bridging the gap between emerging technology and measurable commercial outcomes.
He is a recognised voice on LinkedIn, known for cutting through AI hype with practitioner-grounded, evidence-first insight.
XENOM is founded by Keith Barlow, a long-standing member of the global CrossFit® community. For over a decade, Barlow has trained, competed, earned his CrossFit® Level 2 certification, and worked closely with brands and athletes around the world. As co-owner of Fittest, an agency born from within the CrossFit® ecosystem, he has helped shape the narratives of leading brands within the industry, giving him a deep understanding of the culture and evolution of the sport. His experience within the competitive landscape directly informed the creation of XENOM, built from inside the community for the community.
Kenny Santucci is a fitness expert, athlete, entrepreneur, and host of the Strong New York Podcast. With over 20 years in the fitness and wellness space, Kenny has built one of the most respected community-driven platforms in health and fitness as the founder of Strong New York, NYC’s largest fitness and wellness expo, and owner of The Strength Club in NYC and NJ. Everything he builds is rooted in one belief: that strength, mental and physical, changes lives.
A former collegiate wrestler who has completed multiple marathons and Ironman races, Kenny brings a no-BS, results-driven approach shaped by decades of doing the work. His client roster spans recognizable names in entertainment, including Jon Bon Jovi, Liev Schreiber, and Frank Ocean, and his expertise has been featured in Men’s Health, Men’s Journal, Runner’s World, SHAPE, and Well+Good. He’s partnered with world-class brands including Vuori, Reebok, Under Armour, Adidas, Celsius, Michelob ULTRA, and CrossFit.
Whether on the mic, on stage, or on the gym floor, Kenny’s mission is simple: bring people together through movement
Kevin is a tenured marketing leader with 14+ years of experience driving business growth and improving health outcomes across the Health & Wellness industry. Over the past 11 years at Meta, he’s led holistic strategy for advertisers from brand to performance marketing with a keen focus on growing their bottom line. Outside of work, Kevin can be found exploring Monmouth County, NJ with his wife, two daughters, friends, and family, especially when it's related to his personal passions of fitness & food.
Kiersten Fitzgerald is Chief Operating Officer of Thrive, a nationwide telehealth company partnering with fitness and wellness operators to bring AI-powered preventive and longevity care to their members and communities, and to consumers directly. She leads the operational backbone behind Thrive's GLP-1-based medical weight loss programs, its flagship Healthspan longevity offering, and hormone replacement therapy. These services sit at the intersection of longevity medicine, clinical care, and human performance.
A builder by nature, Kiersten has scaled Thrive's clinical and regulatory footprint to all 50 states and DC, architected the company's third-party physician network strategy, and stood up the compliance infrastructure that allows data-driven preventive care to reach members at scale. Her work spans provider network design, multi-state licensure, synchronous and asynchronous GLP-1 visit models, and Professional Corporation structuring: the operational machinery that turns telehealth ambition into reliable patient experience.
Before Thrive, Kiersten owned and operated a manufacturing company, where she developed the lean, systems-oriented approach she now applies to healthcare. She has served on multiple boards and is a vocal advocate for pushing medicine upstream, finding risk early and intervening precisely.
Kristin Smithers is a Board Certified Light Therapist, wellness educator, author, speaker, consultant, and owner of Sunny Shores SPRAY SUN SPA in North East, Pennsylvania. Known throughout the industry as “The Red Light Queen®,” Kristin has become a nationally recognized voice in photobiomodulation, wellness innovation, and responsible light therapy education.
After being diagnosed with arthritis at just 26 years old, Kristin began a personal journey into light therapy that evolved into years of advanced education, hands-on application, and client-focused wellness experience. She is Board Certified through the Board of Advanced Natural Health Sciences and additionally certified through the Photonic Therapy Institute.
Kristin has been featured on NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox News, AP, and numerous wellness platforms. She is also a Senior Staff Writer for Sun Is Life Magazine and an educational partner with JK Wellness, where she helps advance light therapy education for businesses and consumers.
Through consulting, speaking engagements, webinars, and real-world experience inside her multi-room wellness destination, Kristin specializes in bridging the gap between science, healing, business strategy, recovery, aesthetics, and consumer wellness experiences.
Kyle Perreira is an Executive Director based in Los Angeles and a part of J.P. Morgan’s Consumer & Retail Investment Banking group. Kyle co-leads J.P. Morgan's Health and Wellness Sector with specific focus on the fitness sector. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan in 2025, Kyle spent 10+ years with Lincoln International where he was Head of the Active Outdoor & Fitness sector. Kyle holds a degree in Business Economics from University of California Los Angeles (UCLA).
Kyle has spent over a decade honing the art of brand-building and venture investing. He is the Founding Partner of Pari Passu Venture Partners, which a next-generation venture capital platform. He founded and currently serves as the Chairman of Win Brands Group, an omnichannel retail platform that buys and builds category-defining brands (Homesick, Gravity, Love Your Melon and more). Kyle previously co-founded BVA Commerce, and was a Principal for Burch Creative Capital.
Lacey Ford serves as ABC Fitness’ Chief Marketing Officer, bringing over 20 years of experience leading global marketing organizations across a range of high-growth technology companies. A results-oriented executive, Lacey has a demonstrated record of building strong brands, implementing scalable demand generation engines, and delivering measurable impact on revenue and growth.
Prior to joining ABC Fitness, Lacey held senior marketing leadership roles at TrueCommerce, insightsoftware, Crownpeak and LexisNexis. At her prior roles, she led the global integration of marketing operations across 14 acquisitions, introduced a demand generation strategy that more than doubled marketing-sourced bookings year-over-year, played a key role in repositioning core cloud and AI offerings to new enterprise buyers, and developed and executed integrated brand and field marketing programs that supported international market expansion.
Lacey holds a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and an MBA from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Lacey lives in North Carolina, where she enjoys bodybuilding, hiking with her family and living the hockey mom life.
Lauren Foundos is President of Sales & Partnerships at Echelon Fitness, where she leads all SaaS and Commercial Sales initiatives following the acquisition of her company, FORTË, in 2025.
She is the Founder and former CEO of FORTË, a B2B SaaS platform launched in 2015 that powers premium live and on-demand digital fitness experiences for brands including UFC GYM, Curves, Brick Bodies, and Exhale. FORTË raised over $15M in growth capital, scaled globally, and attracted leading institutional investors.
Prior to FORTË, Lauren spent a decade on Wall Street across Deutsche Bank, a global macro hedge fund, and as a broker institutionally trading U.S. Treasury bonds.
She is a graduate of the University of Maryland, a two-time All-American athlete, and serves on the Industry Partner Advisory Council (IPAC), advising the Health & Fitness Association’s executive team and Board of Directors.
Lauren Parker has been in B2B print and digital publishing her entire career. She has written thousands of business articles on consumer trends, retail, supply chain, lifestyle and apparel, interviewed countless C-suite executives, and attended too many trade shows around the world to count. She is currently a contributor to Athletech News covering industry trends, and recently left Penske Media/Fairchild Media Group (WWD, Sourcing Journal) to join Hertzman Global Intelligence as director of content. Her freelance articles have appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, Northforker, Southforker, among many others. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Cornell University.
Lauren Pronger is a #1 International Bestselling Author, wellness educator, and the founder of SUPERWELL Living, a modern wellness platform rooted in holistic longevity, elevated travel, and intentional living. She is also the founder of Well Inspired Travels, a category-of-one luxury boutique agency. As a wellness visionary and luxury travel insider, Lauren has spent decades crafting transformative experiences for elite athletes, celebrities, and high-net-worth travelers. Through SUPERWELL, she bridges the gap between wellness, lifestyle, and luxury hospitality, integrating biohacking, beauty, and longevity into both digital education and real-world experiences. Her work provides brands, luxury properties, and global audiences with a science-backed, experience-driven blueprint for elevated well-being.
Liz Plosser is a health journalist with more than two decades of experience leading editorial at legacy media brands. She is the former Editor-in-Chief of Women's Health, where for seven years she oversaw the brand across print and digital, reaching a monthly audience of 44+ million. She now writes Best Case Scenario, a top 100 health and wellness Substack. She also hosts Lifting With Liz, a YouTube podcast, regularly appears in live TV segments on ABC, NBC, and CBS, and writes about health and fitness for the New York Times, and Vanity Fair.
Luis Terife is an experienced revenue and operations executive with over 15 years at Fortune 500 companies, including Carnival Cruise Line and Procter & Gamble, and strategic consulting experience with McKinsey & Company.
Since joining Purpose Brands in 2025, Luis has led the marketing and commercial organization, supporting the company's portfolio of world-leading health and wellness franchises: Anytime Fitness, Orangetheory Fitness, The Bar Method, and Waxing the City. With the company's ambitious goal of 10,000 clubs and 10 million members globally by 2030, Luis brings a proven ability to drive business growth and maximize profitability, combining expertise in marketing, sales, and operations to lead lasting business transformations.
Luis holds an MBA from The Wharton School of Business. Originally from Venezuela, he is a native Spanish speaker who has lived around the world and currently resides in Boca Raton, Florida.
Luke Armstrong is Chief Revenue Officer of FIT House of Brands, the global fitness and wellness platform behind F45 Training, FS8 and VAURA. As the first employee of F45, Luke has spent more than a decade helping build one of the most recognized brands in boutique fitness while supporting the growth of a global network spanning more than 65 countries.
A Certified Franchise Executive, Luke oversees global franchise sales, development strategy and international expansion for FIT House of Brands. Throughout his career, he has worked with entrepreneurs, investors and master franchise partners across North America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Africa, helping fitness brands navigate the opportunities and challenges of global growth.
At the ATN Innovation Summit, Luke will share lessons from more than a decade at the forefront of international fitness franchising and discuss what it really takes for fitness brands to succeed beyond their home markets.
Madeline Verbeten is Director of Product Operations at ABC Fitness, where she leads product operations and enables strategy delivery — sitting at the intersection of AI adoption, organizational design, and cross-functional execution. Her current focus is on how AI is reshaping the ways product teams work, from how they synthesize customer signals to how they make and communicate decisions, and what that means for outcomes operators and members experience.
Madeline brings nearly a decade of prior experience at West Monroe, where she advised private equity firms and corporate clients on M&A, product and tech transformation, and scaling operating models. That background gave her a deep appreciation for driving change in complex organizations — a lens she brings to everything she does at ABC. Madeline has remained deeply committed to community impact and service, working with local and global nonprofits, coaching youth sports, and serving as a Big Sister through the Big Brother Big Sisters program. Madeline holds a BS in Business with Honors from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management.
Mr. Magliacano is a Managing Partner in L Catterton’s Flagship Buyout fund. Prior to his 20 years at L Catterton, Mr. Magliacano was a Principal at North Castle Partners, a private equity firm focused on consumer investments that benefit from healthy living and aging trends. During his eight years at North Castle, he originated, executed and monitored investments in the consumer healthcare, nutrition and wellness, and fitness sectors. Mr. Magliacano has been successfully investing in the Fitness & Wellness industry for nearly 30 years with a list of his and L Catterton’s current and prior investments to include CorePower Yoga, Flywheel, Equinox, Pure Barre, Xponential Fitness, Solidcore, iFIT, Hydrow, Tonal, Nordictrack, eGym, ClassPass, Thorne, Nutrafol, HumanN, among others.
Mr. Magliacano received a BS in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business with dual degrees in Finance and Operations and Information Management and received an MBA from Columbia Business School.
Marc is Director of Growth and Engagement at FTSG, a global advisory firm specializing in strategic foresight, emerging technology, and long-term planning. His work connects FTSG to an expansive network of clients, business leaders, technologists, and experts whose perspectives deepen and enrich its foresight work, and he leads the firm's practice in apparel, luxury, and the arts.
Alongside FTSG founder and CEO Amy Webb, Marc teaches strategic foresight in the masters program at NYU's Stern School of Business, where he recently joined the Alumni Council. He also convenes FTSG's Council of Forward Thinkers, an invite-only collective of professionals who bring outside expertise and cross-sector perspective to critical challenges facing business leaders of the future.
His insights have been featured from the pages of Vogue to National Geographic's Ultimate Book of the Future, and he has spoken for audiences from the World Health Organization in Geneva to the Metropolitan Club in his hometown of San Francisco.
Matt Delaney is an inquisitive natured, integrative thinker with a demonstrated history of leading organizational innovation initiatives that drive engagement, retention, and revenue.
As a health coach, manual therapist and international educator with over 20 years of industry experience, he has dedicated his career to helping people from all walks of life improve their health and maximize their potential.
In his current role as Senior Director of Equipment & Program Innovation at Equinox, a global lifestyle brand and leader in luxury hospitality, he oversees club layouts and equipment procurement, designs and develops EQXOS—the brand’s proprietary programming portal—and collaborates across teams to bring innovative ideas and cutting-edge solutions to the forefront of the industry.
Matt’s experience, combined with his passion for helping others, has earned him a strong reputation in the industry and made him a sought-after expert in the field. When he isn’t in the office or traveling you can find him at home with his children or in the street with his camera looking for inspiration.
As Vice President of SWTHZ, I lead with a focus on operational excellence, team development, and delivering a best-in-class client experience across all studio locations. My role centers on driving strategic growth while ensuring each studio upholds the brand’s commitment to innovation, recovery, and overall wellness. I work closely with leadership teams and franchisees to optimize performance, refine sales processes, and build strong, accountable cultures that consistently exceed expectations.
With a hands-on approach, I prioritize coaching and developing high-performing teams, empowering them with the tools and clarity needed to succeed. I am passionate about creating scalable systems that improve efficiency while maintaining the personalized experience that defines SWTHZ.
Ultimately, my goal is to strengthen SWTHZ’s position as a leader in the wellness and recovery space while fostering sustainable growth.
The agent, friend and co-conspirator to Mat Fraser during every moment of his storied career, Matt O’Keefe is now at the helm of our HWPO brand and online training program. He sets his sights on grand accomplishments and pushes the whole team to live out our core values of SHOW UP, WORK HARD and MAKE YOURSELF PROUD.
Matt O’Keefe got his start in the CrossFit® space as a passionate exerciser and brand owner through his clothing business, Redline. He quickly moved into his most notable role in the space as Athlete Manager to many of the top famed athletes in our space including Mat Fraser, Katrin Davidsdottir, Brooke Wells, Annie Thorisdottir, Pat Vellner, Brent Fikowski and many more. He went on to be the President of Loud & Live for 4 years to run their sports division and events such as Wodapalooza and the Madrid Championship before coming to lead the charge at HWPO.
He is passionate about Golf, cookies and is known around here as the king of “blacking out” in a workout.
Matteo is a Vice President at KSL Capital Partners, with experience across private credit and equity in the hospitality and fitness sectors. He has worked across the firm's London and New York offices and has served on the Board of Third Space, a London-based premium fitness club within the KSL portfolio.
Prior to KSL, Matteo was an investment banking analyst at PJT Partners in the Restructuring & Special Situations Group. He holds a master's degree from the University of Oxford.
Mike Goscinski is the Chief of Staff at the Health & Fitness Association (HFA), where he oversees the association’s Advocacy, Research, and Communications departments. He leads HFA’s efforts to protect, promote, and grow the fitness industry through strategic policy engagement, industry research, and communications initiatives.
Mike is the health and fitness industry’s first registered federal lobbyist and helped build a first-of-its-kind advocacy program focused on direct lobbying, grassroots engagement, and political involvement at the federal and state levels.
He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Physical Activity Alliance and chairs its Policy Committee, helping advance policies that position physical activity as a key component of preventive health.
Before joining HFA in 2022, Mike worked in Government Affairs for the National Automatic Merchandising Association, representing the convenience services industry. He has spent more than a decade advocating in Washington, D.C., on issues impacting the food, beverage, and fitness sectors.
Originally from Bayville, Mike now lives in Washington and enjoys staying active and spending time with his Golden Retriever, Duncan.
Mike is a 30-year veteran of the fitness industry and currently serves as Executive Vice President of Technology and Member Services at Crunch Fitness. He joined Crunch in 2006 following the company’s acquisition from Bally Total Fitness by Angelo Gordon of New York City. In his current role, Mike leads the company’s technology roadmap, focused on delivering solutions that enhance the member experience while optimizing systems that support Crunch’s rapidly growing global franchise network.
Today, Crunch serves close to 4 million members worldwide across more than 500 locations and continues its rapid expansion trajectory. Following its acquisition by Leonard Green & Partners from TPG in June 2025, the company is on target to open more than 100 new locations in 2026 alone. Mike’s expertise in technology infrastructure, systems development, and operational strategy has played an important role in supporting Crunch’s growth and evolution into one of the world’s leading fitness brands.
Outside of Crunch, Mike has dedicated the past 25 years to public service as a volunteer firefighter. He currently serves as both an elected Fire Commissioner and Captain for his fire district.
Molly Ritterbeck is the Vice President of Content at Tonal, where she leads the content organization end-to-end across talent, production, and promotion. As a media executive and content strategist, she has notably built programming strategies and a talent roster that speaks to an actively aging audience. This includes signing world-class fitness instructors Tony Horton and Kristin McGee and developing campaigns around them that have driven measurable hardware growth, earned media, and social engagement. Prior to Tonal, she held editorial leadership roles at Runner's World, Bicycling, and Fitness.
Myles Farmer is the Co-Founder of Othership, a social wellness brand with locations across Toronto and New York City. Othership has become one of North America's most talked-about wellness concepts, blending sauna, cold plunge, and community-driven programming under one roof. Their growth is focused on New York and surrounding states, with a flagship Upper East Side location set to open next year. Creating a new vision for the next iteration of bathhouses for NYC.
Before Othership, Myles co-founded a hospitality group and a media company in Toronto that operated large-scale nightclubs, event centers, and restaurants. He started his career as a Tim Hortons franchisee, opening nine locations across the city.
Myles is focused on Othership's continued expansion across the United States.
Natalie Straub is the Chief Strategy Officer at JETSET Pilates, the fastest-growing modern Pilates brand in boutique fitness. Nat is a founding partner of JETSET Franchising, helping evolve the Miami-born brand into a worldwide franchise system.
Originally founded in 2010, JETSET was one of the early pioneers of modern, reformer-based Pilates in the United States, developing a loyal following long before the category’s recent mainstream explosion. Since entering its franchise era, the brand has expanded rapidly across major U.S. markets, Australia and the UK, with more than 400 territories under development in just 4 short years.
At JETSET, Nat oversees growth and revenue strategy across franchising, brand positioning, market expansion, pricing, and marketing at scale. She is known for her perspective on the evolution of modern Pilates, boutique fitness consumer behavior, and building premium wellness brands that balance strong unit economics with an elevated experience.
Prior to joining JETSET, Nat worked with ZGrowth Partners, where she gained experience supporting a fitness franchisor and learning the operational and strategic dynamics of franchise growth. She also spent time with solidcore during a pivotal stage of the boutique fitness category’s expansion.
Nate Checketts is the Co-Founder & CEO of Rhone, the performance driven apparel brand made by and for those in the pursuit of progress. Prior to Rhone, Nate worked for and consulted with some of the biggest technology and entertainment properties in the world including Cisco, The National Football League, Legends, FanVision and Sport Radar. Nate is also an avid entrepreneur who founded and launched 4 companies before the age of 30, including Rhone and Mangia Technologies, whose patents were later acquired by the San Francisco 49ers. In 2020 Nate was selected by the Sports Business Journal to their 2020 list of Forty leaders under Forty. In addition to Rhone, Nate also serves as a Director to Clean Simple Eats, a leading brand of functional foods and recipes. Nate graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in Finance. He and his wife Dayna reside in Connecticut with their three boys, Gabriel, William and Nicholas.
Neha Govindraj is the founder of Bonside, a brick-and-mortar intelligence platform that accelerates growth by powering AI-led decisions across the ecosystem, partnering with businesses, landlords, and lenders.
Prior to founding Bonside, Neha was a consultant at Bain & Company, where she worked in the private equity and retail practices. She then co-founded Glowbar, a successful brick-and-mortar skincare concept with locations throughout the Northeast.
Nick serves as Daxko’s Chief Sales Officer, leading sales efforts across the fitness and wellness verticals to drive growth and expand market presence. With over 20 years of experience in software sales, he brings deep expertise in SaaS, sales leadership, and strategic execution. He oversees business planning, customer retention, and revenue strategies—including acquisition integrations—ensuring sales initiatives align with company goals.
Nicole Charlock is the Performance Director for North America & UK at STRONG Pilates, where she leads franchise performance, operational excellence, and growth initiatives across multiple international markets. She partners closely with franchise owners and leadership teams to improve business performance, implement scalable systems, and build the operational foundations needed to support long-term growth.
With a background spanning boutique fitness operations, sales, coaching, and franchise development, Nicole has built a reputation for turning data into action and delivering measurable results. Since joining STRONG Pilates, she has played a key role in supporting the brand’s rapid international expansion, working with studios across North America and the UK to optimize performance and implement best practices at scale. Known for identifying operational and performance gaps with precision, Nicole focuses on practical solutions that improve execution, elevate teams, and drive sustainable business growth.
Nolen launched AXLE in 2016, building on technology he originally developed for the dental and medical industries. From the beginning, his focus was clear: eliminate disconnected systems and replace them with a centralized platform that enables true cross-functionality. By allowing each component of the business to operate in a synchronized, chain-reaction manner, AXLE helps operators move faster, make better decisions, and scale with confidence.
Recognizing a major gap in the market, Nolen saw that most technology solutions were not built to support multi-location businesses at scale. He set out to change that by creating a platform designed specifically for high-growth operators who require reliability, efficiency, and seamless integration across every touchpoint.
Today, AXLE supports more than 2,000 businesses across six continents, including leading brands such as [solidcore], SweatHouz, JETSET Pilates, and The Athletic Clubs. Under Nolen’s leadership, the company continues to deliver technology that drives operational clarity, measurable performance, and long-term growth.
Nt Etuk is the Founder and CEO of FitGrid, an AI-driven intelligence platform powering thousands of boutique fitness studios to drive revenue, retention, and community engagement. Through FitGrid, Nt has pioneered “True Market Intelligence,” enabling fitness and wellness operators to benchmark performance, uncover hidden revenue opportunities, and make smarter growth decisions at scale.
A recognized industry innovator, Nt co-founded Boutique Fitness Solutions, a private network of top studio operators from leading brands including SLT and Fhitting Room. He also authors The Intelligence Bridge – Franchise & Enterprise Edition, a monthly strategic briefing for franchisors and growth leaders focused on turning data into scalable advantage.
At the onset of COVID-19, Nt led FitGrid to launch the industry’s first mass-deployable live streaming solution within days, helping studios retain over half their memberships and fueling 5x company growth in a year. Today, FitGrid supports millions of monthly class reservations and continues to shape the future of connected fitness.
Nt is a Crain’s 40 Under 40 honoree, holds a BS from Cornell and an MBA from Columbia, and has been featured in Forbes, Wired, and The New York Times.
Ori Gorfine is Chief Executive Officer of Onelife Fitness, where he is shaping one of the East Coast’s most dynamic growth stories in fitness, wellness, and business. A strategic operator and brand builder, Ori leads Onelife Fitness with a clear vision: premium fitness experience should feel welcoming, attainable, and deeply connected to the communities it serves. Under his leadership, Onelife Fitness has grown to more than 70 clubs in Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, and Georgia, offering members 3.5 million square feet of premium amenities at a reasonable price. Pairing intentional market expansion with meaningful reinvestment in new and existing clubs through multi-million-dollar renovations, Ori has led the development of boutique programs, upgraded recovery offerings, and next generation training concepts that reflect how discerning people want to work out and live today. Ori believes the future belongs to brands that make wellness more complete, more welcoming, and more accessible — and that is exactly where Onelife Fitness is headed.
Pamela J. Brown is Executive Vice President, Head of People & Culture at Crunch Fitness, where she leads enterprise people strategy with a focus on talent, culture, and engagement. Since joining in 2023, she has helped guide the organization through a pivotal period of transformation, including its transition to Leonard Green Partners, while expanding benefits, strengthening hiring practices, and advancing leadership development and recognition programs.
Pam brings cross-industry experience from leadership roles at Gallagher Global Brokerage and as Global Chief Human Resources Officer at CIFG, where she led enterprise initiatives that elevated culture, talent strategy, and business performance. Her leadership approach centers on scaling culture through data, accountability, and engagement.
She is also an Adjunct Professor at NYU, teaching leadership and HR strategy, and serves as Marketing and Communications Chair for NYC SHRM and on the Advisory Board of DisruptHR NYC. Pam holds a Master’s in Human Resource Management with honors and is a recognized speaker across leading HR forums and podcasts.
Pete is the Founder, Managing Partner and Chief Dream Architect at Integrity Square ("ISQ"), a leading boutique financial advisory firm focused on the Health, Active Lifestyle, Outdoor ("HALO") sector.
Since founding ISQ in 2010, the firm has played an active advisory role in 100+ mergers & acquisitions, private placements and advisory assignments across North America. Pete Moore and his team have also invested in passionate entrepreneurs at HigherDOSE, XTEND, and Promotion Vault.
ISQ's media and "live education" properties include HALO Talks, the leading B2B podcast in the sector, Time To Win Again, and the HALO Academy, an Executive Education Bootcamp Series.
Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer is Co-Founder and CEO of EGYM and Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of Playlist — the $7.5B wellness technology platform uniting EGYM, Mindbody, ClassPass, and Booker. The idea for EGYM was born at Columbia University in 2008, where Philipp found himself staring at the weights wondering how to train correctly. He returned to Germany and co-founded EGYM to give every gym-goer a personalized, technology-driven fitness experience. Today, EGYM serves 7.5 million monthly active users across 33,000+ locations in 45+ countries, with an $800M+ revenue plan for 2026. The March 2026 merger with Playlist created the world's largest full-stack fitness and wellness operating system. Philipp is a recipient of the Rainer Schaller Entrepreneurship Award and holds degrees from LMU Munich, Columbia Business School, and Aarhus University.
Rachana brings over 25 years of strategic management experience to the Human Resources function, where she has led teams through organizational development and transformation. Rachana’s passion lies in ensuring organizational readiness in the constantly changing work landscape to accelerate growth and engagement.
Prior to joining ABC, Rachana served as the Global VP of Human Resources and Talent Acquisition for Emtec, Inc. Over a six-year period, Rachana helped successfully execute a companywide cultural transformation initiative encompassing a complete organizational redesign that helped the company further focus on digitalization and innovation.
Prior to Emtec, Rachana held multiple roles at Accenture within its global talent organization.At ABC, Rachana is leading the creation of a purpose-driven culture so that our team members can support our customers through technology and build a workplace where we curate the right nexus of health, fitness, wellness and work to make our contribution to the industry as impactful as we can.Rachana holds an MBA in Human Resources from the Delhi School of Economics.
Radha Agrawal is a social entrepreneur, bestselling author, and community architect who has spent the last decade helping people feel less alone, with collective joy as her north star.
She is the founder and CEO of Daybreaker, the global dance and social wellness movement that has brought nearly a million people together across sixty-six cities and all seven continents for joyful, substance-free dance and community experiences before work. She also cofounded THINX, the pioneering period-underwear company that helped change the conversation around women’s health.
Radha is the author of the bestselling book Belong, and the founder of the Belong Institute and Belong Center, organizations dedicated to ending loneliness and teaching the art of community building.
She lives between Brooklyn and upstate New York with her family including their goldendoodle Nanü and their fluffy-headed chicken named Marshmallow.
Pro Football Hall of Famer Ray Lewis is widely considered to be one of the most dominant defensive players in the history of the NFL. He led the Baltimore Ravens to victory in Super Bowl
XXXV (where he was named Super Bowl MVP) and again in Super Bowl XLVII, in what would be the final game of his career. Lewis is only the second player in NFL history to win both the NFL Defensive Player of the Year and Super Bowl MVP awards in the same year (2000). His 13 Pro Bowl selections are tied for the fifth-most in the NFL by any player, and the most by a linebacker. He was named AP All-Pro ten times and NFL Defensive Player of the Year twice (2000 and 2003).
Today, Lewis is a New York Times best-selling author for his breakout memoir, I Feel Like Going On. Ray Lewis has been bringing his unique brand of inspiration and motivation to some of the world’s biggest companies and organizations for years. He speaks from the heart with passion and authority, drawing from a wealth of experiences on and off the field. With audiences, Lewis shares his lessons of leadership, working through adversity, motivating those around you, and inspiring the best in people.
Robert Hammond is a visionary in transforming cities through infrastructure that prioritizes people, health, and connection. As the Co-Founder of New York City’s iconic High Line, he helped turn an abandoned railway into a $2.2 billion economic and cultural engine – now a global model for adaptive reuse that promotes connection and wellbeing. He also launched the High Line Network, inspiring over 100 similar projects across North America.
Today, as President and Chief Strategy Officer of Therme Group US, Hammond is applying his placemaking expertise to a new frontier: thermal bathing. His vision is to reintroduce urban bathhouses at scale as accessible community-centered urban spaces, where wellbeing is designed into daily life through infrastructure.
A TED Talk speaker and New York Times op-ed contributor, Hammond’s work asks a provocative question: What if the future of cities depends on reclaiming old school ideas of collective wellbeing? By reviving communal spaces rooted in traditions like Roman baths, he aims to spark a cultural shift – where wellbeing isn’t optimized in isolation but designed into the urban fabric for all.
Robert has had a varied career spanning health and fitness, consultancy, and academia. The author of 2 books, Marketing Professional Services in Asia (Lexis Nexis, 2009) which was called one of the most indigenous books on Asian marketing by Professor Oliver Yau (Chair Professor of Marketing at City University HK) and Developing a Profitable Practice in Asia (Ark Group, 2010), Robert has also published over 50 articles in various newspapers and magazines on the topics of strategy, marketing, and leadership. He has spoken at numerous events as a keynote speaker or panelist around Asia.
He has a BSc in Sports Science and Management from Brunel University and an MBA from the University of Lincoln. He did his doctoral studies in strategy at a university in Hong Kong.
Ryan is an energetic leader dedicated to leveraging modern engineering practices and technologies to deliver innovative products and features. As CTIO, Ryan will be responsible for building a best-in-class team, aligning IT strategy with business goals, leveraging technology and data to enhance marketing effectiveness, and delivering consumer insights to elevate the member and employee experience.
Prior to VASA, Ryan was Vice President of Engineering at Inspirato where he oversaw the development and operations of Inspirato digital properties, CRM, inventory, financial, and data platforms. At Inspirato, Ryan assembled an engineering team that became one of the highest performing teams in the company, drastically improving efficiency while taking on new challenges like machine learning and deploying AI driven solutions to the business. He has also held technology leadership roles at Slalom, Entercom, iHeart Media, Teradata, Rackspace, and T-mobile.
Ryan Utsman has worked in the fitness industry for 28 years, gaining experience in sales, marketing, fitness, and operations. As a seasoned EVP for UFC Gym, he is passionate about improving the lives of others and growing the organization into an international household name. His leadership philosophy encompasses passion, purpose, & people. Emphasis on being a catalyst for change and a driver of results, driven to improve processes and operations. An entrepreneur and innovator with broad leadership expertise within startup, rapid growth situations and turnaround challenges with underperforming locations. Ryan also has served on multiple boards and consulted for many industries. Outside of the office, Ryan enjoys spending time with his 3 kids, wife, and playing soccer!
As Brand President of The Little Gym International since January 2025, I bring over a decade of experience in franchise operations and support, specializing in strategic communications, business strategy, and customer service. My work focuses on fostering franchise growth and profitability while aligning with the company’s goals.
Previously, I contributed to franchise support in various leadership roles, including Vice President of Operations and Franchise Support and Director of Consulting at The Little Gym International. I am passionate about empowering franchisees, delivering impactful strategies, and supporting operational excellence to drive long-term success.
Sander van den Born is Chief International Officer for Purpose Brands, the world's largest and most trusted portfolio of fitness, health, and wellness franchise brands — home to Anytime Fitness, Orangetheory Fitness, and The Bar Method.
Van den Born leads the company's global growth engine, forging strategic partnerships that bring Purpose Brands' fitness concepts to markets worldwide. He and his multinational team drive growth across new and existing markets through operational innovation and multi-unit, multi-brand expansion, working toward the company's goal of 10,000 units and 10,000,000 members by 2030.
Based in Europe, van den Born brings more than three decades of global experience across health and fitness, consulting, and IT services. He joined Purpose Brands in 2022 from GoodLife Fitness Group in Canada, where he served as Chief Marketing and Technology Officer. Prior to that, he spent nearly a decade leading marketing, innovation, and strategy at IT consulting firm CGI.
A former competitive cyclist, van den Born holds an Executive MBA from Nyenrode Business University and an undergraduate degree from Zuyd University of Applied Sciences. He resides in Valencia, Spain.
Sarah Luna is the CEO of Pilates Addiction, a Sequel Brands company and national boutique Pilates franchise delivering a high-performance, results-driven experience. Each studio features the brand’s patented Aurum Reformer, exclusive to Pilates Addiction, and is led by certified Educators guiding clients through anatomy-informed, full-body training designed to build strength, control, and mobility. The signature method fuses intensity with precision, creating sessions that challenge, transform, and energize. With over 18 years in the fitness industry and more than a decade scaling high-growth boutique franchises, Luna brings deep operational expertise and a passion for elevating both people and brands. She began as a certified Pilates instructor, witnessing firsthand how intelligent movement transforms lives. That foundation evolved into leadership roles across top fitness brands, including Club Pilates, Pure Barre, and Xponential Fitness, where she helped drive national expansion and brand evolution. Now leading Pilates Addiction, Luna combines biomechanics, franchise development, and instructor education to build a system rooted in integrity and innovation, delivering transformative studio experiences that keep clients returning.
Former Goldman Sachs banker with over a decade in banking, I transitioned my expertise into wellness by founding a science-backed multinational company. Our mission is to enhance health and performance through cutting-edge technology and research.
Our product range covers advanced Hyperbaric Oxygen Chambers, Photobiomodulation Beds, and One Brain X, our brain mapping and neurofeedback helmet.
Alongside our hardware, One AI is our artificial intelligence platform that gives users real-time insight into cognitive performance, stress response, and mental resilience. Whether the goal is faster recovery, sharper thinking, or peak physical output, our technology delivers measurable results.
Our innovations are trusted by the military, top hospitals, Accor Group, Six Senses, Rosewood Hotels, and elite spas worldwide. We proudly support world-class athletes like Anthony Joshua and Thiago Silva, helping them reach peak performance.
Rooted in science and driven by innovation, our products meet the highest standards of safety and efficacy.
No Guesswork. Just Science.
Scott Marcaccio is the co-founder and CEO of Myo, a modern physical therapy brand designed to futureproof your body. With over 20 locations across major markets, including Los Angeles, Vancouver, Toronto, and New York City, Myo's best-in-class clinicians deliver more than 250,000 personalized one-on-one sessions every single year through their proprietary FutureProof Method, helping people discover how their bodies can—and should—move. Leading today’s conversation around proactive body care, Myo partners with global brands like Nike, Equinox, and Lululemon to amplify its mission of raising body IQ globally.
Scott N. Perkins is co-founder and Managing Partner of pliability, a mobility + recovery platform that helps people move better through guided, programmed stretching routines. A lifelong operator, Scott founded his first company at 18 and at 21 merged two competing firms into a digital agency that grew to serve hundreds of clients across 19 states before shifting its model to take equity in the companies it believed in.
In 2015, Scott acquired ROMWOD and has since built it into pliability, now a leading mobility app with users in 100+ countries, serving athletes, everyday movers, and wellness-focused subscribers. pliability is proudly the Official Stretching Partner of HYROX.
At pliability he oversees all strategic operations of a bootstrapped business with an international footprint, and is working to expand pliability's programming and methodology in partnership with other fitness apps.
Sean Hoess is the founder and CEO of Eudēmonia, one of the world’s leading consumer health summits. Founded in West Palm Beach in 2024, Eudēmonia has seen explosive growth in its first two years. The 2025 summit attracted 5,000 participants, 170 exhibiting brands, and offered more than 300 talks from more than 160 leaders on the frontiers of physical health, mental well-being, and longevity. The event will return for its third year on November 5–8, 2026.
Prior to founding Eudēmonia, Hoess was the co-founder and CEO of the world’s first wellness festival, Wanderlust Festival. Wanderlust combined world-class yoga and meditation instruction with outdoor activities, lectures, music and the arts. From its 2009 launch in California, Wanderlust grew to 65 annual festivals in over 20 countries, with annual attendance of 80,000+ wellness seekers and more than $20m in annual revenue.
Hoess received his JD, Master’s degree and BA from Columbia University. After 31+ years in New York City, the pandemic catalyzed an unexpected move to the woods of New Hampshire, where Hoess now resides with his wife Karina (Eudēmonia’s VP of Programming), their two children, and a pet sausage dog, Otto.
Sean Laskey didn’t just open a wellness studio — he answered a calling. After years as a high-end restaurant server and manager, he spent over a decade at sea managing the Shore Excursion Program onboard Carnival Cruise Ships, later partnering with his wife Brittany as luxury brand ambassadors on Carnival and Princess. He rose to Director of Business Coaching at Grant Cardone. That elite sales, operations, and hospitality foundation prepared him perfectly.
While exploring franchises from their couch, Sean and Brittany heard founder Jamie Weeks on a podcast about contrast therapy. The vision hit instantly. They went all-in, opening SWTHZ Palm Beach Gardens on May 5, 2025. In just one year it became the #1 revenue- and membership-generating studio in a 100+ location national network, with 440 members, 9% attrition, and 20% EBITDA margins.
Sean uses contrast therapy daily for dramatic gains in energy and mental clarity. Driven to make this gift of solitude and recovery accessible, he’s expanding with Delray Beach (August 2026) and brings the proven franchisee and Area Developer perspective to the Athletech Innovation Summit stage.
Sebastien Silvestri is the CEO of Chef Daniel Boulud’s hospitality group, The Dinex Group, an international leader in the restaurant, food and beverage industry. His focus is on defining the next era for Dinex’s collection of restaurants and brands, expanding the brand portfolio through strategic partnerships and business development while maintaining the excellence of existing operations. He joined Dinex as CEO in August 2019, with over 25 years’ experience in the hospitality industry.
As CEO of Dinex, Sebastien has considerably grown the company’s portfolio, which now includes 33 operations globally. Headquartered in NYC, Dinex restaurant brands now include: Daniel, Café Boulud, La Tête d’Or by Daniel, Maison Barnes, Le Pavillon, Le Gratin, Jōji, Blue Box Café by Daniel Boulud, Centurion NY, Maison Boulud, Boulud Sud, Brasserie Boulud, Terrace Boulud and Epicerie Boulud. The company also operates event spaces Le Jardin sur Madison and SUMMIT Events, and the catering business Cuisine Boulud. Dinex currently has operations in New York, London, Hong Kong, Palm Beach, Miami, Montreal, Toronto, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, and the Bahamas, and continues to expand globally. The Group has consistently earned the highest industry accolades, including Michelin Stars at Restaurant Daniel, Café Boulud, Le Pavillon, and Jōji.
Shawn Torkelson is the Global CMO & Chief Strategy Officer at Coherent Solutions, a global digital engineering and consulting firm serving established brands and ambitious scale-ups through a team of ~2,000 professionals across 10 countries. Coherent's signature Digital Value Creation framework helps clients anchor strategic digital initiatives to enterprise value and growth outcomes, and the firm's unique Continuous Delivery Loop enables clients to accelerate their path to AI-native engineering.
In this role, Shawn is responsible for architecting the firm's approach to vertical markets, including the Fitness & Wellness industry, to ensure Coherent's technical capabilities are purpose-built to address the industry's most pressing challenges.
Shawn has more than 20 years of experience shaping client strategy and brand experience in B2B tech and services. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Marketing from Concordia University in Minnesota and a Master's degree in International Business & Marketing from Harvard University in Massachusetts.
Steffie Bryant is a highly accomplished fitness industry professional with over a decade of experience across multiple leadership roles. Her career began as a Membership Consultant, and she has since held key management positions at prestigious fitness organizations including Goodlife Health Clubs and Go Health Clubs in Australia. Now serving as President of Keepme, Steffie combines strategic vision with deep operational expertise to drive innovation and growth across the sector. She is also recognized as one of the foremost speakers on AI for fitness operations in the fitness industry, known for helping operators understand how AI and emerging technologies can transform performance, member experience, and commercial outcomes. Originally from Australia, Steffie relocated to the UK eight years ago and has since become a well-recognized figure in the fitness industry, both in the UK and internationally.
Steve Kuzara is a technology pioneer, entrepreneur, and wellness-equipment innovator whose career has spanned global technology, manufacturing, and sauna culture. After college, he moved to Asia and joined Acer Inc. during its early global expansion. Over the next decade, he helped build Acer’s international business across Asia, Europe, and Russia. Three of those years were spent living between Russia and Finland. In 1997, Micron Technology recruited him to Idaho as Director of its International Division, ending nearly ten years overseas.
His years in Russia and Finland sparked a deep appreciation for authentic sauna culture. In 2003, he left technology and purchased America’s only sauna-heater manufacturer, later acquiring and consolidating several companies into what is now the leading American manufacturer of commercial saunas, advanced steam rooms, and cold rooms. Today, he continues to design, consult, and advocate for hygienic, human-centered wellness environments.
Steven Beltrani is the CEO of Tracy Anderson, partnering with founder Tracy Anderson to lead and execute the company’s global strategic vision. He oversees international expansion across the brand’s corporate and franchise-owned studio footprint, product go-to-market strategies, and digital ecosystem spanning more than fifty-three countries.
Steven drives operational excellence and scaled implementation across all markets, ensuring the continued growth of the Tracy Anderson brand while preserving its integrity, identity, and long-standing approach. In addition to overseeing global operations, Steven leads the brand’s marketing and communications strategy, along with key partnerships and media initiatives that elevate the company’s visibility and influence across the globe.
His work focuses on strengthening the brand’s presence as a trusted and world-renowned leader in the wellness and movement space, ensuring consistent storytelling and brand alignment across all channels. He previously led the company’s communications and public relations strategy beginning in 2012, shaping early brand positioning and external voice during key stages of growth.
Tara Levitt is Co-Founder & Chief Customer Officer at AltaDX, where she leads customer strategy and enterprise partnerships for fitness, wellness, and beauty brands navigating digital transformation.
Raised in the fitness industry, Tara has spent the majority of her career in member management software and operations, working across nearly every business function — including operations, product management, implementation, sales, and customer success. This cross-functional experience enables her to bring both strategic vision and practical execution to complex initiatives.
She has partnered with many of the industry’s largest global brands, helping them align technology, operations, and customer experience to drive measurable growth and long-term member value.
Following the successful exit of Motionsoft to Daxko in 2020 — where she served on the senior leadership team — Tara led technical project and product management initiatives for Zenoti, a leading software provider in the med-spa and boutique wellness segment, and Club Sports Group, the largest franchisee of F45 studios.
A recognized customer success advocate, Tara is a frequent speaker on technology and the member journey and serves as Co-Host of The Fitness Technology Summit.
Tatum Brandt is a brand strategist, designer, and Brand Director at APEX, the first true athletic competition for athletes. As the first hire and head of brand and creative, Tatum leads marketing strategy, creative direction, content, partnerships, and app brand development.
Before joining APEX, Tatum spent seven years running Brandt Creative Co., her own creative studio specializing in high-impact branding and web design for the fitness and wellness industry. Blending backgrounds in advertising and UX, she helped more than 200 founders and startups clarify their message, elevate their identity, and build conversion-focused digital experiences. Tatum also publishes the newsletter, Branding the Barbell, and creates industry-focused content exploring the intersection of branding, culture, and performance. She lives in Raleigh, NC, where she balances creative work with endurance sports and giving back to her local design community.
Tim Dux is Executive Vice President of Maritime Operations for [OneSpaWorld](https://onespaworld.com/), the global leader in health and wellness services aboard cruise ships and destination resorts worldwide. With more than 20 years at the company, Tim oversees large-scale maritime wellness operations across more than 208 ships globally, leading operational strategy, guest experience delivery, workforce performance, and onboard wellness innovation. He has played a key role in the company’s growth into the market-leading wellness operator within the cruise industry, overseeing a global onboard workforce of more than 4,500 professionals and serving millions of cruise guests annually while advancing next-generation wellness technologies and operational innovation across the company’s maritime platform.
Travis LaBazzo is the co-founder of Amped Fitness, one of the fastest-growing fitness brands in the U.S., known for redefining the high-value gym model through immersive, experience-led design. Over the past 20+ years, he has built and scaled multiple high-performing locations, with a focus on volume, retention, and operational efficiency.
Travis is focused on building brands that stand out in saturated markets using design, energy, and execution to drive growth beyond traditional fitness models.
Travis Shannon is the Chief Technology Officer at Hapana, the leading end-to-end SaaS platform for gyms, health clubs, and fitness studios. With over 20 years of experience in fitness, hospitality, and technology, he leads Hapana’s global product development and innovation teams.
Before joining Hapana, Travis held senior executive roles where he directed large-scale technology transformations, launched consumer-facing apps, and pioneered IoT and AI-driven solutions to improve customer engagement and operational efficiency. He has been recognized with the CIO 100 Award for innovation and as a multi-year participant in the Club Solutions Leadership Summit.
Travis holds an MBA from Babson College and a BS in Computer Science and Biochemistry from Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
Utku Toprakseven is Chief Development Officer at 4GLOBAL, where he leads global product, data and technology strategy, including the development of the InsightOS platform. With over a decade of experience working with governments, sports bodies and operators across the UK, Europe, the Middle East and North America, Utku specializes in turning complex data into actionable insights that drive investment decisions, improve participation and maximize social and economic impact.
He has played a key role in delivering sector-wide data initiatives and major programs across the UK and internationally, supporting evidence-led decision making for national governing bodies, operators and policymakers. His work is focused on advancing the use of data and AI to support a more impactful sport and physical activity sector.
Vadim Bartlov is the Sector Executive for Fitness & Wellness at Coherent Solutions, a global digital engineering and consulting firm serving established brands and ambitious scale-ups through a team of ~2,000 professionals across 10 countries. Coherent's signature Digital Value Creation framework helps clients anchor strategic digital initiatives to enterprise value and growth outcomes, and the firm's unique Continuous Delivery Loop enables clients to accelerate their path to AI-native engineering.
In this role, Vadim leads AKTIV by Coherent, a specialized practice of hundreds of engineers working exclusively with the fitness industry. AKTIV partners with leading fitness & wellness brands to design and build connected experiences, scalable platforms, and differentiated digital products that drive engagement, retention, and new revenue.
Vadim has over two decades of experience leading engineering teams across industries, including Health & Fitness, Medical Devices, IoT, Energy, and Consumer Electronics. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and an MBA from the University of Minnesota.
Co-founder with an IPO; board director and advisor to leading health, fitness, wellness, longevity and technology companies; coach and speaker in over thirty countries.
First non-Chinese 32nd generation Shaolin Temple Master, monastic name Shi Xing Mi.
Formerly the youngest CEO of a publicly listed company in Australia, with IPO at age 27.
Martial arts champion and sponsored athlete during high school and university.
Exercise-as-Medicine leading expert, with qualifications from numerous academic institutions.
Speaker in over thirty countries and featured in hundreds of publications; called by international media the "monk of strategy", "master of performance", "fitness monk", and “wellness master".
Warren Heffelfinger is the CEO of ISSA, the global leader in fitness and wellness education. Formerly CEO of Ingenio for 10+ years, he specializes in scaling PE-backed wellness platforms through digital innovation. Warren is currently focused on professionalizing the fitness workforce to help ISSA reach its goal of bringing healthier living to 100 million people by 2030.
Will Bartholomew is the founder and CEO of D1 Training, a leading athletic-based training brand he launched in 2001 after a career-ending knee injury ended his NFL aspirations with the Denver Broncos. A former fullback and captain at the University of Tennessee Volunteers, Bartholomew was part of Tennessee’s 1998 national championship team and built D1 around the training principles and team culture he experienced at the Division I level.
What began as training athletes on a field in Nashville has grown into one of the nation’s fastest-growing performance training franchises, with D1 serving youth athletes, adults and elite competitors through its signature 5-Star Training system. Under Bartholomew’s leadership, D1 has expanded nationally with more than 180 locations while staying rooted in its mission of developing the whole athlete through discipline, confidence and community.
Known for blending an athlete’s mindset with entrepreneurial vision, Bartholomew is a passionate advocate for coaching, leadership and long-term athletic development. Through D1, he has helped shape a brand centered on performance, purpose and helping athletes reach their goals.
Zach operates at the intersection of technology, community, and consumer health. During his time getting his MBA at Stanford, Zach convened the Inaugural Consumer Health Conference, bringing 400+ people, 30+ speakers, and $20B of industry value on campus to discuss what the next decade of consumer-empowered care looks like.
Zach Collinger has over 14 years of experience leading international expansion, franchise growth, and operational excellence for some of the world’s most recognized fitness and entertainment brands.
As Senior Vice President of Global Franchising at Barry’s, Zach oversees worldwide franchise strategy and development, partnering with entrepreneurs and operators to scale Barry’s iconic Red Room experience across established and emerging markets. He leads market entry diligence, financial modeling analysis, and growth initiatives across a network spanning 19 countries, while building the frameworks that drive operational excellence and long-term brand success.
Prior to Barry’s, Zach spent nearly a decade with Sky Zone, where he held a leadership role in international operations and business development, working closely with franchise partners to launch, optimize, and scale across diverse cultural and economic environments.
Combining strategy with execution, Zach has built a career creating scalable franchise systems, fostering lasting franchise partnerships and sustainable global growth.
Zakaria Mansour is the co-founder and CEO of bsport, the leading management software for boutique fitness and wellness studios worldwide.
Born in Paris and shaped by international experience, Zakaria has always been drawn to fragmented, fast-moving markets where better tools can unlock new opportunities. Driven by this vision and a strong entrepreneurial instinct, he co-founded bsport in 2018 to help fitness studios simplify operations and grow sustainably.
He leads with a strong customer focus and thinks ahead, anticipating what studios need as the market evolves. During COVID, this approach led bsport to become the first platform to enable seamless online class integration, helping studios adapt quickly and continue operating.
Today, Zakaria continues to build bsport around the same belief that started it, that great software should reduce complexity, not add to it.
More speakers coming soon...
