People news
Averis has spent 15 years in the sector
Pavigym names Colin Averis UK sales director Sports and health club flooring specialist Pavigym has announced Colin Averis as sales director, UK and Ireland. Averis, who takes over the reins from Alan Cuthbert, will be tasked with driving sales for Pavigym’s suite of products, which includes the functional interactive wall and floor solution Prama. Averis arrives with broad experience from across the sector, having held a wide range of roles during his 15 years in the industry. Having started in the public sector as a leisure operations manager working on large commercial projects and procurement, Averis later moved to commercial sales, occupying positions including an account management role for Nautilus, Stairmaster and Schwinn. More recently, Averis held sales roles with Keiser UK and Matrix Fitness. Details: http://lei.sr?a=V4n4h_H
Wexer’s new global marketing and communications manager Lucy Button
Wexer unveils new London HQ Wexer Virtual has opened a new central London headquarters as the virtual fitness provider seeks to scale up its offering to new and existing partners. Currently working with leading fitness operators across more than 30 countries worldwide, Wexer wants its office in Bishopsgate to be the launchpad for “a new wave of innovation across the digital landscape”. The company now has offices in London, Copenhagen and New York. “After eight years of continued growth, we are proud to achieve another important milestone in the company’s short history,” said Paul Bowman, CEO of Wexer Virtual, who took up the reins from founder Rasmus Ingerslev a year ago. “With our new headquarters, we aim to remain focused
on innovation and opportunity as we strive to work with our partners and build new relationships to make exercise more accessible through the use of virtual fitness.” In addition to the London premises, Wexer has also announced new recruits in the form of Daniel Waide and Lucy Button. Waide will be based in the US office, where he will serve as country manager, handling relationships with Wexer’s existing partners as well as working to generate new business. Meanwhile, Button will join Bowman and the team in London, where she will focus on the company’s global marketing and communication strategy. Bowman said both bring a “wealth of expertise” to help the company reach the “next level”. Details: http://lei.sr?a=e2D4c_H
Stalker steps down at ukactive ukactive has begun its search for a new chair of its Membership Council, with previous incumbent David Stalker having stepped down at the end of last month. Stalker, who became ukactive Membership Council chair after quitting as CEO in 2015, is leaving the frontline of the fitness sector to focus on growing his trampolining business Oxygen Freejumping. As such, the search is now on to find a new chair for the Membership Council, which underwent a significant restructuring last year as part of ukactive’s 12-month governance review. The Council is seeking a new chair who will bring a “substantial track record of leadership gained in the sector” with experience of key issues relevant to the ukactive membership base. 28
“The Membership Council plays a leading role in setting the agenda and tackling the critical issues for the sector,” said ukactive executive director Steven Ward. “We look forward to bringing a person on board with the experience and calibre to continue the excellent work that has been started by the Council. We would like to thank David Stalker for his excellent work in forming and galvanising the Membership Council as he hands it over to his successor and concludes his formal time with ukactive.” To read an explosive interview with Stalker on the future direction of the sector, why we should be working with big business, and what must be done to professionalise the sector, turn to page 34. Details: http://lei.sr?a=t3b7q_H
healthclubmanagement.co.uk June 2016 ©Cybertrek 2016
Stalker is to focus on his business ventures