Global gym chain Planet Fitness has hired Sarah Powell as general counsel, replacing Justin Vartanian who left the company earlier this year.
Powell joins from Cinnabon and Schlotzsky’s brand-owner GoTo Foods, where she was also GC. At Planet Fitness, she will sit on the executive leadership team and provide strategic legal counsel to support the company’s growth ambitions. She is due to join on 17 November and will report directly to CEO Colleen Keating.
Hampton, New Hampshire-based Planet Fitness is one of the world’s largest operators and franchisors of fitness clubs, with more than 20 million members globally.
Keating said: “Sarah is a results-driven leader with extensive experience advancing key organisational initiatives, mitigating complex risks and building high-performing teams. I’m looking forward to partnering with her to support the brand’s strategic imperatives, drive operational excellence and further our continued global growth and expansion plans.”
Powell spent more than a decade at GoTo Foods, having previously spent 13 years as GC at car parts retailer Advance Auto Parts. She also had a near five-year spell at supermarket chain Delhaize America as assistant GC. She started her career in private practice at Glenn Feldmann Darby & Goodlatte.
She said: “Planet Fitness is a leader in the fitness industry, and I’m proud to join a company with a purpose-led mission that has such an incredible opportunity to bring affordable access to fitness.
“I look forward to joining the team and leveraging my experience working with complex franchise matters and consumer brands on a global scale to help accelerate Planet Fitness’s strategic imperatives, drive operational excellence and further the company’s continued global growth.”
Powell’s predecessor Vartanian departed in June after 11 years with the company, having become GC in 2017. He originally joined as associate GC from law firm Devine Millimet & Branch.
Back in September, US gym chain Crunch Fitness hired Chris Flowers as its inaugural GC from Restore Hyper Wellness. While in other health and fitness-related moves, in April 2024 Swiss smartwatch-maker Garmin promoted associate GC Josh Maxfield to the GC role, replacing Andrew Etkind who had been the company’s legal head for more than a quarter of a century.
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