advertisement

Life Fitness names new CEO

Fitness equipment manufacturer Life Fitness announced it has appointed Chris Clawson as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Clawson, who had been president of Rosemont-based Life Fitness from 2010 to 2016 and most recently was chairman of the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, succeeds Jason Worthy as CEO.

Clawson first joined Life Fitness in 1994 in a product development role. After 10 years with the company, he went on to several fitness industry leadership roles, including president of Matrix Fitness Systems, before returning in 2010.

He holds an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management and a bachelor's degree from San Diego State University.

"Given his extensive fitness industry and leadership experience, we believe that Chris is uniquely positioned to once again lead Life Fitness and help the company succeed under KPS' ownership," said Jay Bernstein, a partner at KPS Capital Partners, a majority shareholder of Life Fitness.

The company also said Steve Klyn has been appointed Chief Financial Officer. Klyn worked with KPS since 2012 as CFO of one of its portfolio companies, International Equipment Solutions, a market-leading manufacturer of engineered equipment. In addition, Augie Nieto, a founder of the current company, will also be a co-investor in the business and will be appointed to its board of directors. Nieto served as president of Life Fitness from 1977 to 2000 and helped transform the company from a single-product business to the market leader in the commercial fitness equipment industry.

Life Fitness, which manufactures commercial fitness equipment and game tables under the brand names of Life Fitness, Hammer Strength, Cybex, Indoor Cycling Group, SCIFIT and Brunswick billiards, was spun off from Mettawa-based Brunswick Corp. in 2018, as Brunswick said it would focus on its boating and marine equipment businesses.

Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.