By Kate Cracknell
Courtesy IHRSA.com
The GHFA welcomes nine industry leaders to its inaugural advisory council to support the growth and provide innovative solutions for the health and fitness industry.
The Global Health & Fitness Alliance (GHFA), an IHRSA initiative, is delighted to announce its inaugural nine-member Advisory Council as it ramps up its efforts to establish the health and fitness sector as an essential service and key contributor within the healthcare continuum.
This group of industry veterans brings experience and passion that will assist the GHFA in its mission to secure a seat at the table of the World Health Organization (WHO), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and other United Nations and international organizations, establishing the health and fitness sector as an essential service and key contributor within the healthcare continuum, and in turn, influence the agendas of national governments.
Get to Know the GHFA Advisory Council
Greg Oliver assumes the role of GHFA Advisory Chair. Oliver is currently the CEO and Managing Director of APAC’s Fitness & Lifestyle Group and is the founder of Debit Success, one of ANZ’s largest membership, billing, and software services. From owning and managing multi-club gym chains and corporate health businesses to handling significant mergers and acquisitions, Oliver has a fitness career spanning 40 years. Current board positions include Fitness Australia, Fitness & Lifestyle Group, and its subsidiaries.
Richard Beddie is the CEO of Exercise New Zealand and board chief of staff for the International Confederation of Registers for Exercise Professionals (ICREPs). Previously a multi-club owner, Beddie also has extensive governance experience in global exercise and recreation bodies and a passion for collaboration to get more people physically active through exercise.
Andrea Bell is the co-founder, director, and chief people officer of Inspire Brands Asia, the consortium that owns the master franchise license for Anytime Fitness Asia. Having started with Anytime Fitness as a franchisee seven years ago, Bell is now a people-focused leader who focuses on culture and building and retaining an exceptional team.
Anna Henwood is the chief marketing officer at Les Mills International. Her passion and knowledge in brand strategy and data-driven marketing helps drive the global fitness company towards its vision of a fitter planet. As well as championing an active lifestyle, Henwood is a proud advocate for female leadership and creating action around diversity and inclusion.
Raj Kumar, executive vice president for International at Self Esteem Brands, the multi-branded franchisor of Anytime Fitness, The Bar Method, Basecamp Fitness, and Waxing the City, has over 25 years of experience leading retail businesses in Europe, Asia-Pacific, and North America with global multinationals including General Mills and Tata.
Brian Morris is the founder and CEO of the Aspria Group, a collection of large, premium, award-winning well-being clubs, spas, and hotels across Belgium, Germany, and Italy. Under Morris’s leadership, a philosophy of “Life, Lived Well” underpins the efforts of 500 professionals who look after the holistic health of Aspria members aged three months to 99 years.
Justin Musgrove is the current CEO of Kun Real Estate, a new leisure and hospitality company centered on creating one of the world’s most revered lifestyle brands. Musgrove was formerly CEO of Leejam, the largest gym chain in the Middle East, and before that, CEO of the Bannatyne Group in the UK operating gyms, spas, and hotels.
Emmett Williams is a partner in the wearable technology company, Myzone. Williams has worked throughout the industry in multiple regions of the world, recently returning to Australia after 10 years in the United States. Inducted onto Fitness Australia’s “Roll of Honor” for excellence in leadership, he currently sits on IHRSA’s Industry Partner Advisory Council.
Anastasia Yusina is the president of Strata Fitness Holding and founder of Orange Fitness, City Fitness, and FITSPACE Boutique Fitness, whose club brands span from Moscow to Florida. Yusina graduated from Moscow University, Paris Institute of Political Sciences, and Moscow International Relations Institute and holds a Ph.D. in Economics.
For more information, please contact Kilian Fisher, GHFA coordinator, and IHRSA director of international public affairs, at kfisher@ihrsa.org.
About the GHFA
The Global Health & Fitness Alliance (GHFA) was founded by IHRSA in November 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with a mission of repositioning the health and fitness sector in the eyes of global governments and health bodies, definitively confirming it as an essential and vital service and a key contributor in the preventative healthcare continuum.
The GHFA is a proactive, globally representative alliance that brings together CEOs, C-suite industry stakeholders, and influencers from across the health and fitness sector.
The Alliance represents the entire global health and fitness club industry while funding research and advocacy to ensure the sector’s essential role is first recognized and then realized, working as a team and in cooperation with the relevant authorities.
The GHFA is powered by IHRSA and supported by organizations worldwide—CREPS, national trade associations, club companies, and suppliers—but operates as a fully inclusive alliance open to all, with no membership fees. All applications are reviewed to ensure global representation, thought leadership, and authority move at pace.
Kate Cracknell is a contributor to IHRSA.org.
IHRSA, the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association, is a not-for-profit trade association representing the global fitness industry of over 200,000 health and fitness facilities and their suppliers.
IHRSA maintains a leadership role in advancing physical activity, which is critical to peak health and fight the battle against obesity and chronic lifestyle disease. As one of the world’s leading authorities on the commercial health club industry, IHRSA’s mission is to grow, promote, and protect the health and fitness industry. IHRSA provides its members with benefits and resources that will help them be more successful. IHRSA and its members are devoted to making the world happier, healthier, and more prosperous through regular exercise and activity promotion. IHRSA is the publisher of Club Business International, the leading monthly magazine for the global fitness industry.
