ROSEMONT, Ill., July 25, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Life Fitness, the global leader in commercial fitness equipment, is pleased to announce the appointment of Jim Pisani as Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately, with Paul Stoneham transitioning as a Senior Advisor to the Life Fitness Board of Directors.
Mr. Pisani brings over 25 years of experience leading commercial expansions of global outdoor, recreation and sports apparel brands. Most recently he served as Chief Executive Officer of the Outdoor & Recreation Business Segment of Newell Brands. In this role, Mr. Pisani led the expansion of iconic brands including Coleman, Marmot, Contigo and Campingaz.
Prior to Newell, Mr. Pisani served as Global President of Timberland where he led sustainable, profitable growth within a brand portfolio that included Timberland, Timberland PRO, Kodiak, Terra and Dickies. Mr. Pisani also served as President of VF Licensed Sports Group where he oversaw the uniform and apparel licenses for Major League Baseball, as well as the apparel licenses for the National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and National Collegiate Athletic Association. He also executed growth strategies for major consumer brands including PepsiCo and Kraft. Mr. Pisani earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Northern Illinois University and his Master of Business Administration degree from Lewis University.Â
"I am thrilled to be joining Life Fitness and am excited to partner with our team to execute on the Company's next phase of growth," said Mr. Pisani. "We will continue to deliver on our industry-leading reputation for quality and innovation to provide exceptional products and excellent service levels to our customers."
The Company thanks departing Chief Executive Officer Paul Stoneham for his important contributions to Life Fitness during his tenure to position the Company for the exciting next phase of growth.  Under Mr. Stoneham's leadership, Life Fitness demonstrated double-digit revenue growth and established itself as a leader in product innovation as the Company showcased its new product launches at the recent IHRSA and FIBO trade shows. Life Fitness looks forward to Mr. Stoneham's continued involvement with the Company as a Senior Advisor to the Life Fitness Board of Directors.
About Life Fitness
Life Fitness is the global leader in commercial fitness and home recreation equipment. The company manufactures and sells its strength and cardiovascular equipment through its iconic family of brands that includes Life Fitness, Hammer Strength, Cybex, ICG®, and SCIFIT. Its equipment is distributed to over 250,000 fitness facilities in more than 160 countries globally. Life Fitness is a portfolio company of KPS Capital Partners, LP. For more information about the Life Fitness family of brands, visit lifefitness.com.
About KPS Capital Partners LP
KPS, through its affiliated management entities, is the manager of the KPS Special Situations Funds, a family of investment funds with approximately $12.7 billion of assets under management (as of March 31, 2023). For over three decades, the Partners of KPS have worked exclusively to realize significant capital appreciation by making controlling equity investments in manufacturing and industrial companies across a diverse array of industries, including basic materials, branded consumer, healthcare and luxury products, automotive parts, capital equipment and general manufacturing. KPS creates value for its investors by working constructively with talented management teams to make businesses better, and generates investment returns by structurally improving the strategic position, competitiveness and profitability of its portfolio companies, rather than primarily relying on financial leverage. The KPS Funds' portfolio companies currently generate aggregate annual revenues of approximately $20.5 billion, operate 218 manufacturing facilities in 26 countries, and have approximately 49,000 employees, directly and through joint ventures worldwide (as of March 31, 2023). The KPS investment strategy and portfolio companies are described in detail at www.kpsfund.com.
