Freemotion Fitness has appointed John Harris as director of business development to help accelerate business growth at this pivotal time in the company’s evolution.
Harris joins Freemotion, a fitness equipment and technology company, with more than 30 years of leadership experience in nonprofit, health club, hospitality and health care management. Freemotion will use that expertise to help grow and enhance its presence within its target markets.
Most recently, Harris served as the President and CEO of The Granite YMCA in Manchester, NH, where he helped to expand its philanthropic and operational impact as New Hampshire’s largest YMCA. He also concurrently served as the vice-chair of the State Alliance of YMCAs.
Prior to that, Harris held several other senior positions, including vice president of operations for the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit (where he was responsible for the management of six facility branches, numerous child-care and school-based programs, and two resident camps), Regional Vice President for Midtown Athletic Clubs (formerly Tennis Corporation of America), and regional management roles for The WellBridge Company, Health Development Corporation, and Fitcorp Healthcare Centers.
Speaking of his appointment, Harris said: “I’m thrilled to be joining the Freemotion team with a company that I’ve respected for a long while. I’m looking forward to contributing to Freemotion’s growth as we expand our customers’ ability to drive their business results while helping people live more productive and fulfilling lives. I’m very excited by the prospect of the innovative products we’re bringing to the market in 2020, like our content-driven cardio series with 22-inch HD touch screens and the Fusion CST, the highly innovative group training product which unites cardio and strength exercises in a way that’s never been done before.”
A graduate of Springfield College, with a degree in exercise science, Harris enjoys a range of sports, including motorcycling, skiing, hiking and kayaking, and will bring a genuine passion for health and fitness to the role. Freemotion believes this versatility will allow him to continue his strong track record of developing excellent working partnerships with customers and colleagues, both internal and external.
Marcy Spaulding, director of sales for North America, said of the hire: “John brings with him a great deal of experience which can benefit our team as we enter this new and exciting phase of growth for our company; most notably his leadership and team development skills, industry relationships and significant experience in multiple markets, including for-profit and non-profit organizations. We’re excited to have John on our team and – with so many great developments on the horizon – we’re looking forward to working alongside him to continue strengthening and expanding our brand to reach an even wider audience to share the benefits of our products and technology.”
As a continuation of Freemotion’s recent employment push, Harris joins fellow new recruits, Apostolos Seintis (Sales Director Europe), Leopoldo Torres (Sales Director Latin America), Sheldon Guy (Sales Director Canada), Tony Ali (UK Country Manager), and Jill Drummond (Global Education and Program Manager). Chris McGill and Marcy Spaulding have also been promoted to Vice President of Global Sales and Director of Sales for North America, respectively, as Freemotion advances its global expansion strategy.
Freemotion is the commercial division of Icon Health & Fitness, a fitness and health company. ICON brands include NordicTrack, ProForm, iFit and Freemotion.
