IHRSA, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, elected Carrie Kepple, Alan Leach, Bryan O’Rourke and Brad Wilkins to the IHRSA Board of Directors — to be led by newly elected chair Derek Gallup.
The election took place during IHRSA 2017, the association’s 36th Annual International Convention & Trade Show.
Derek Gallup, SVP of fitness and retail for New Evolution Ventures, will begin his term as IHRSA’s 2017/18 chairperson on July 1, 2017.
“I am honored to represent the fitness industry as the IHRSA Chair for 2017/18,” said Gallup. “Our platform will be to lead the way in reversing the physical inactivity epidemic through high visibility and active leadership in our communities, at the IHRSA convention and other fitness gatherings around the world. We will innovate through cutting edge technology and attract millennials as IHRSA members and fitness customers.”
“Derek brings incredible experience and passion for the industry to the board,” said Joe Moore, IHRSA president and CEO. “I look forward to working more closely with him in our mutual goals to grow IHRSA, the industry, and participation in physical activity.”
Derek Gallup will take over the chair position from current chair Rasmus Ingerslev, who will serve an additional year on the board as Ex-Officio beginning July 1, 2017. Gallup, Ingerslev and the current Board of Directors are joined by four new members with extensive industry knowledge.
Carrie Kepple is a 10-year industry veteran of international club business, currently serving as the manager of a Les Mills facility in Newmarket, New Zealand. She has expanded Les Mills business operations in New Zealand — opening, reopening, and managing three clubs across the country. As an international trainer and presenter, Kepple has also served as a global sales training consultant for Les Mills and as the national director for 62 corporate-owned clubs offering Gold’s Gym Group Exercise (GGX).
Alan Leach currently serves as general manager, sales trainer and head of sales and marketing for the West Wood Club, based in Dublin, Ireland. He uses his 32 years of health club and sales management experience to serve more than 33,000 club members at West Wood Club and Crunch Fitness locations in Ireland and Bosnia.
Bryan O’Rourke has a track record of growing global brands in a variety of industries, focusing the past two decades on fitness, wellness and health clubs. He currently serves in a variety of roles including Chief Strategic Officer (CSO) for Gold’s Gyms of Houston, Texas; CEO of Integerus Advisors and Vedere Ventures, and serves as the President of the Fitness Industry Technology Council (FITC).
Brad Wilkins is the senior vice president of Cooper Aerobics Enterprises, Inc., and oversees the Cooper Fitness Center and the Cooper Spa in Dallas, Texas. Wilkins joined Cooper Fitness Center as an intern in 1996 and since then, has taken on roles as a fitness trainer, fitness director, and general manager. Most recently, in 2015, he was named the chief operating officer of Cooper Wellness Strategies.
The four new board members will serve a four-year term from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2021. With an incoming board, there is also an outgoing board. The IHRSA Convention afforded the opportunity for the industry to thank and acknowledge outgoing board members Molly Kemmer (Ex-Officio), Allison Flatley and Bill Beck, whose terms come to an end on June 30, 2017.
Photo courtesy IHRSA
