The Xponential Fitness Board of Directors appointed Brenda Morris, an experienced C-Suite executive and member of Xponential’s Board of Directors since 2019, as interim chief executive officer, effective immediately. In connection with Morris’ appointment, Chelsea Grayson was appointed lead independent director of the Board.
The Board removed Anthony Geisler who founded Xponential Fitness and grew it into the largest franchisor of boutique fitness brands, from his duties and suspended him indefinitely as CEO, also effective immediately.
The company received notice on May 7, 2024, of an investigation by The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California (USAO). The company previously disclosed an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company reported that it “intends to continue cooperating with the SEC and intends to cooperate with the USAO. The Board formed a Special Committee of Directors, consisting of independent directors Grayson, Jair Clarke and Jeffrey Lawrence, to investigate the matters.
During his time overseeing Xponential, Geisler led the acquisitions of Body Fit Training (BFT), Row House, YogaSix, CycleBar, StretchLab and, most recently, Lindora. He has been removed from Xponential’s management team page and replaced by Morris.
“The Board has determined that appointing Brenda Morris to serve as Interim CEO is in the best interest of Xponential, its employees, customers, franchisees, and shareholders,” said Mark Grabowski, chairman of Xponential. “Over the last five years, Brenda has been a deeply involved Board member as we have pursued Xponential’s mission to make health and wellness accessible to everyone. The Board and I have every confidence that Brenda will be an excellent leader during this period, and we look forward to working alongside her.”
“Since I joined the board in early 2019, I’ve seen firsthand the demand for our boutique health and wellness brands, leading to tremendous growth for Xponential, reaching customers all over the world,“ said Morris. “My focus from day one will be to continue to capitalize on that potential by continuing to enhance our company’s franchise model, optimize performance in our existing studio base and grow our studio presence. We have a deep and experienced team at Xponential, and, together, we expect to continue to build on the solid momentum underway.”
The Board has retained an executive search firm to assist with CEO succession planning.
The company reaffirmed its full-year 2024 guidance previously announced on May 2, 2024, in conjunction with its first quarter 2024 financial results.
Morris has over 35 years of experience working in finance, accounting and operations concentrated in consumer products, food and beverage, retail and wholesale sectors. She is a Partner at CSuite Financial Partners, an executive services firm she joined in 2015, serving as interim CEO, COO and CFO for several companies where she executed successful exits and assisted with the transition of leadership and the next chapters for companies, including Dime Beauty, Little Sleepies and Killstar.com. Previously, Morris was the chief financial officer at Apex Parks Group from 2016 to 2019, the senior vice President of Finance at Hot Topic, Inc. from 2015 to 2016, and chief financial officer at 5.11 Tactical from 2013 to 2015.
Morris serves on the board of directors of Boot Barn Holdings, Inc. and iHerb.com. She served on the board of directors of Ideal Image Development, Inc. from 2020 until 2024 and the board of directors for Duluth Holdings, Inc. (DLTH) from 2015 until 2022. Morris holds a BA from Pacific Lutheran University and an MBA. from Seattle University. Morris has a NACD Directorship Certification and NACD Cyber-Risk Oversight Certification.
Image courtesy Xponential Fitness
