- Public Operator Council
- Private Operator Council
- Supplier Council
- Independent Council
- Wider Activity Forum
Public Operator Council
I am keen that the good work of the public sector as a whole is recognised, protected and invested in and I have always been a stalwart advocate of leisure trusts as a good way of providing public leisure services for the benefit of the communities we serve.
I have extensive experience of working in Partnership with Local Authorities, Sport National Governing Bodies, Olympic Organising Committees and in the Libraries sector.
UK Active is our National Voice as Operators from all the sectors and I would be pleased to support UKA through membership of the Public Sector Council ensuring that our voice is fully heard, collaborating with all parts of our industry, whilst ensuring that the distinctive nature of the public sector is protected and promoted.
In particular I have always also been concerned about the opportunities for young people in sport and ensuring that these are available to young people irrespective of family wealth. I am pleased and proud to be able to say that the GLL Sport Foundation (GSF), of which I am Chair of the Board, continues to be the biggest source of support to disadvantaged young people in sport in the UK
With a wealth of experience as a leader in the industry I have worked in the private, charity and public sector for over 30 years, including 18 years’ experience in a director/CEO role. I feel I have the values, skills and experience to help achieve the public operator councils’ goals having worked in partnership with our local council officials for almost 20 years as well as being vice chair on the GM Active Board of Directors.
As a values led leader, I model our organisations behaviours and values in everything I do. The organisation I lead has an ambitious strategy and outcomes aimed to help benefit our community and improve health outcomes for all. As an innovative, agile, strategic thinker I thrive in a volitive, uncertain, complex or ambiguous (VUCA) environment and will always look to achieve and deliver on outcomes and I am comfortable to take calculated risks and to be at the forefront of technology advancements if it brings real change to the communities we serve. Trailblazing, isn’t new to me and over the past 5 years my organisation has tried and tested various new technologies. In 2019 we were the first public sector operated leisure facility in England to introduce microfiltration into our pools which is now becoming an industry standard, and we are currently working on other exciting sustainability initiatives as we strive towards net zero.
I have steered our organisation to have a strong focus on EEDI, governance and sustainability, to me it just makes business sense as you approach business decisions in a very different way when focusing on these key elements.
Physical activity isn’t just part of my day job, it’s part of my life. Outside of work I have a keen interest in football, and I am a volunteer coach for an under 11’s team and I help bring the joy of movement to the next generation.
I have worked at Fusion for nearly 15 years working my way up to CEO from roles such as Head of Asset Management and Director of Operations.
With the ever-changing landscape in local government, I would be delighted to represent the public sector as a whole.
My experience spans more than 30 years in the leisure industry, and covers all areas of operations, including product and digital development. As our industry becomes more closely linked to the health sector, my experience and insight-driven understanding of the industry would be beneficial to the Public Operator Council
Serco Leisure operate over 50 leisure facilities across the UK with approximately 2,400 employees. Its clients include local authorities, Sport England, WheelPower, the national charity for wheelchair sport and the Government of Jersey. It operates local leisure centres, as well as prestige National Sports Centre such as Bisham Abbey and Lilleshall; venues where elite and community sports come together.
Sally has worked across the private and public sectors in career spanning over 25 years in the leisure sector. She is someone with a proven operational track record, successfully managing a varied range of facilities, from leisure centres to golf courses, water parks to outdoor activity centres – someone able to adapt to new challenges and bring impactful change to the teams she has overseen. Sally has been instrumental in working with local authority clients to provide the most effective solutions in challenging times through initiatives such as spend to save and added value.
Sally is Serco Leisure’s strategic lead for revenue generation and provides leadership to a team of subject matter experts, who provide the link between the operational business and centralised support.
She is a relationship builder, whether that’s with key external stakeholders or the team she oversees. Serco Leisure’s annual pulse check employee survey, Viewpoint, is testament to this, with Sally consistently achieving top percentile approval scores from the people she manages and supports.
Sally is a passionate advocate for the benefits of physical activity and an active lifestyle, and was a founder member of GM Active.
Away from work, she enjoys playing various sports in particular golf and hockey, and also spends as much time as possible walking the peaks of the Lake District with her family, friends and dog Betty.
The breadth of my role has seen me heavily involved in all aspects of the business, and how we scale them across our portfolio. As part of the Public Operator Council, we need to look at how we scale the activity industry across the whole country to get more people active.
My experience spans more than 30 years in the leisure industry, and covers all areas of operations, including product and digital development. As our industry becomes more closely linked to the health sector, my experience and insight-driven understanding of the industry would be beneficial to the Public Operator Council.
Given the opportunity, I can bring a broad set of skills and knowledge of governance, marketing, sport policy and business, partnership influencing and engagement, an international track record of delivery and a portfolio of experience that encompasses a very wide range of public, private and third sector organisations and stakeholders. This will allow me to represent UK Active and the sector in the most positive way, working closely with the rest of the Council and UK Active senior management team.
I understand the challenges faced by large and small organisations, being a Strategic Director of a company with 4,000+ employees and £100m+ turnover, but also having set up my own limited company, growing it from nothing.
In my role as Strategic Director at Parkwood Leisure, I am responsible for our marketing team (including public relations, corporate partnerships and direct to customer marketing), business development team and health & wellbeing team, which gives me an excellent up-to-date understanding of key developments and landscape changes in the physical activity sector. Much of the work of our health & wellbeing team is delivering physical activity interventions within complex local systems across local authorities, CVSE organisations, Integrated Care Systems and private sector partners.
Having been a trustee of two charities and a school governor at two schools, I am acutely aware of the pressures on key partner sectors such as education and CVSE organisations. I was a founding trustee of Everyone Health & Leisure in Cheshire East and recently became a trustee of Together Active, the Active Partnership for Staffordshire.
I joined Parkwood Leisure from British Cycling where I spent 3 1⁄2 years overseeing the development of their capital grant programmes, operating model and business plan. Whilst there I also designed and implemented their Places to Ride investment programme.
I have worked in the industry for more than 20 years and worked with national and international clients including Sport England, UK Sport, SportScotland, Sport Wales, a number of high profile NGBs, Core Cities and local authorities
In my current role as the Chair of the Scottish Leisure Network Group I lead on the strategic objectives of the group to ensure members are afforded the best opportunities to learn, develop and share best practice. The group has members from 31/32 local authorities in Scotland as well as a number of Universities, Colleges and independent not for profit organizations therefore hugely representative of the leisure, sport, health and well-being sector in Scotland.
My vast experience within South Lanarkshire Leisure and Culture Trust setting coupled with my most recent role at the University of Strathclyde enables me to provide broad and relevant perspective across local government, Trust and HEFE sectors. Additionally, contributing a Scottish perspective supports the aim of the Council to represent all regions of the UK.
I have an in-depth knowledge of the impact our industry has on communities. I bring a wealth of experience in operations, project and business development. Having worked in the challenging trust environment, balancing social and economic objectives, I have a strong understanding of the difficulties our industry faces.
I am hugely passionate about health, well-being and physical activity and the benefits it has for our nation and would be delighted to share my energy and enthusiasm to represent Public Operators with other like-minded individuals on the Council.
I believe my broad experience in the sector working in senior roles, including playing a part with collaborating with the key sector organisations over the years makes me a good fit for the role.
I am passionate about encouraging people to be active but am realistic about the challenges we all face to stay financially viable whilst at the same time, doing what we can to engage with those who struggle to access our services.
I am the first to admit that I’m not afraid to challenge the status quo, but hopefully those who know me well would say that my passion comes from a place of good intentions!
As a LinkedIn 'Top Voice' in Leadership and Sports Management, I am passionate about developing high-performing teams and leveraging emotional intelligence to drive peak performance. My enthusiasm for health, fitness, and sport aligns perfectly with GCLL's mission to deliver a vision with a powerful focus on social impact. It's also in line with UK Active's aim to get more people, more active, more often. As a mentor, investor, and community health and wellbeing advocate, I'm committed to making a positive impact on society and would welcome the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and organizations to drive change together
As a LinkedIn 'Top Voice' in Leadership and Sports Management, I am passionate about developing high-performing teams and leveraging emotional intelligence to drive peak performance. My enthusiasm for health, fitness, and sport aligns perfectly with GCLL's mission to deliver a vision with a powerful focus on social impact. It's also in line with UK Active's aim to get more people, more active, more often. As a mentor, investor, and community health and wellbeing advocate, I'm committed to making a positive impact on society and would welcome the opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals and organizations to drive change together
Prior to my role at Brimhams Active I have worked across the industry, most notably within the National Governing Body for swimming, supporting the financial sustainability of the business as they transition in to a new strategic plan.
I have built my career on a love of swimming and a passion for the sector. I love the dynamic and fast paced nature of the environment and enjoy challenging the status quo to inform proactive change. As a values based leader, I recognise that we a are a people first industry and as such aim to model and lead with compassion and understanding, knowing that success is built on shared objectives and a commitment to doing the right thing.
As we are on the cusp of systematic change in the industry I would be delighted to work with other like minded individuals to support this movement for integrated change and ultimately a healthy nation.
Under Jason's leadership, Mytime Active has undertaken groundbreaking initiatives aimed at improving community health and wellness. One notable example is the implementation of a measurement strategy to assess the impact of leisure services on individuals' well-being. This innovative approach demonstrates Jason's commitment to evidence-based practices and ensuring that Mytime Active's efforts yield tangible benefits for the community.
Moreover, Jason's passion for enhancing public health is evident in the strategic partnerships and programs he has spearheaded. Collaborations with local Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) have led to the establishment of MSK Hubs and cardiac programs such as HeartSmart and FreshStart. Additionally, Mytime Active's integration with hospital teams to deliver cardiac phase 3 rehabilitation highlights Mytime Active’s dedication to bridging the gap between healthcare and leisure services.
Private Operator Council
Together, they grew the business from a one site, three staff operation into a multi-site contract management business operating health clubs and day spas, primarily in hotels, employing over 450 staff and with an annual turnover in excess of £10million.
Having sold out to a PLC in 2001, the pair bought the business back three years later and developed the Imagine spa concept to support the health club offering.
In 2011, Mosaic acquired it’s first freehold stand alone health club and day spa when it bought The Shrewsbury Club out of administration. Since then, the business has gone on to add two more freehold clubs; Holmer Park in Hereford and Riverhills in Ipswich.
Dave has always been passionate about the industry and was on the Board of UK Active, when it was known as the Fitness Industry Association, for seven years before serving as Chair for two years from 1999- 2001. He was the driving force behind a number of industry initiatives including the introduction of the industry’s Code of Practice and Register of Exercise Professionals.
He re-joined UK Active’s Membership Council in 2015 and is currently Chair of that group.
Dave is also on the Board of the Marches LEP, based in the West Midlands, and is the Small Business Champion for the region. Dave authored a book called “More to Gain Than Just to Game” which shares seven stories about the life lessons sport teaches us and was shortlisted in the Telegraph Sports Book of the Year Awards 2020.
In 2006, the government led by Tony Blair made Carol its national director for health and work and asked her to promote its policies across Whitehall, especially within the Department of Health and the Department for Work and Pensions. In March 2008, she authored Working for a healthier tomorrow, a report which focused on the impact of sickness absence on the health of the working-age population and on the economy.
She was made a CBE in 2002 in recognition of her research work on scleroderma. Carol was upgraded to DBE in 2005 while she was President of the Royal College of Physicians. She was made an honorary Doctor of Science by the University of Bristol in 2003.
“Carol chairs ukactive’s Remuneration Committee, and is a member of the Nominations Committee
In 1991 John started his first gym business, Dragons Health Clubs, which listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1997, with 22 clubs. Dragons was sold in 2000. He then lent his expertise to premium gym chain Esporta, before he concentrated on the launch of The Gym Group in 2008.
Under John’s leadership, The Gym Group pioneered the low cost gym model with contractless, 24/7 operations and online sign-up. In November 2015, The Gym Group became the first UK health and fitness group to debut on the London Stock Exchange in over 15 years. In February 2016 the business was named as a finalist and Ruban d’Honneur recipient in the 2015/16 European Business awards. John stepped down as CEO of The Gym Group in September 2018, but remains on the board as Founder Director.
Today, The Gym Group is nationwide with over 159 sites and a roll-out programme of 15-20 new gyms each year. It has had over 100 million gym visits since launch in 2008, and has a membership of over 750,000.
Supplier Council
Matt spent the first 10 years of his career in an operator role for Holmes Place Health Clubs where he was responsible for opening and managing clubs across the UK, Europe and North America allowing him to fully understand the needs and challenges of operators first-hand.
Having been a Managing Director of multiple global equipment suppliers, Matt understands the complexities of managing direct subsidiaries and distribution partners and the effects this can have on supporting direct customers. He has a wealth of skills, expertise and experience, knowing what it takes to overcome the various challenges faced by suppliers of fitness equipment in an everchanging industry.
He is a strategic leader with the experience necessary to overcome challenges, build upon momentum, maximise opportunities and elevate companies to the next level of success. He is passionate about not only providing the best possible fitness equipment to the market, but also to pioneer leading customer service and personalised experiences so that more and more people are encouraged into fitness and activity in order to help promote healthier, happier lifestyles for the long-term, aligning perfectly with ukactive’s mission to increase physical activity and the health of the nation. Matt also recognises the positive impact of a mentally-healthy workforce too, that’s why, in partnership with MH1, Matrix has invested in mental health training for key staff to recognise issues and signpost employees to seek help.
Matt’s industry expertise, coupled with a shared passion for driving change makes him the ideal candidate to represent ukactive’s suppliers.
Dave’s career spans roles at David Lloyd Leisure, Matrix Fitness, Les Mills UK, ukactive, and Xplor Technologies. Joining in 2021, Dave now holds a Commercial Director role with a focus on Xplor Gym.
Xplor Technologies employs over 300 people in the UK and offers a range of software and payments solutions for both private and public sector operators. These software solutions for UK operators include Xplor Gym and Legend by Xplor. Both are all-in-one membership management software platforms with embedded payments, designed to help operators of all sizes to delight consumers, operate efficiently, and grow profitably.
Dave embodies Xplor Technologies’ philosophy of moving with purpose, by keeping pace and continuously improving to drive better outcomes, faster for customers.
Dave brings an exceptional level of experience working with operators across all sectors of the industry, as well as with a broad range of suppliers. As a result, he is acutely aware of the current challenges and opportunities that the sector faces.
In joining the ukactive Suppliers Council, Dave will represent suppliers across this category and provide support, engagement and constructive challenge for our collective mission to get more people more active.
Since joining Life Fitness in 2007, Craig has been promoted through various senior roles, including UK Sales Director prior to his current position, and as part of the UK Management Team, where he has been instrumental in leading the UK business. Prior to joining Life Fitness, Craig worked in education and was formerly Head of Sport at Doncaster College.
I am standing for the Supplier Council of UK Active representing the Professional Business Services category.
I have worked in the fitness industry for over 20 years, firstly within the fitness sector before moving into recruitment. I love the industry and see this as an opportunity to make a real difference, bringing as many of my relationships together as I can to effect real progress.
Short description
Love Recruitment is the specialist recruitment provider for the fitness and leisure industries. For the last 9 years we have forged some wonderful relationships and close friendships across the fitness, leisure, suppliers, children’s activities sectors as well as complimentary operations like trampoline parks, go karting, golf courses and activity parks. We recruit for around 100 companies in these sectors and in the last 9 years have found over 2000 people their next great opportunity.
We are well connected to the leadership in the areas, most of whom are members of UK Active and either work closely with or have recruited alongside many of their employees. The relationships are with senior leadership teams, within clubs and centres, suppliers and senior HR and People specialists. This gives us a platform and community to really understand some of the challenges involved in recruitment and people we have in our sector.
In addition to 9 years of building workforce expertise from entry level to c-suite recruitment, we also consult and help guide our clients and candidates to recruit and develop better. To complement this, we launched the Love Your Career Podcast in 2022 to give even more help in these areas from some of very best industry leadership. In addition, we have also conducted 2 Pulse Surveys and 2 PT Surveys in our sector. We believe these actions have really helped to professionalise and raise the bar of recruitment and people related factors in our sector and would carry this on even further within this council.
Great recruitment, and its continued development, can only be great for the sector in bringing in and retaining more quality people and teams. The more quality we have, the more we will attract to work in it, the more people will be active, more often. We can also use our insights and expertise to support the growth and development of the sector through these people and help to inform UK active of the recruitment landscape for which we are uniquely placed.
Service and Delivery is at the centre of how we work, always being a pleasure to deal with and delivering the right people and teams to our clients. That’s why we believe our NPS score of over 9, Google Review scores of 4.7 average and retention stats are as high as they are.
In this role, we would truly be there to benefit the category we are representing, utilising the relationships in operations, support, training, development, and strategy to maximise the Professional Business Services category.
I am passionate about our industry and playing a part in improving the health and wellbeing of our communities. My role sees me act as the strategic lead with our clients and partners across the leisure and culture sector meaning I not only work within an agency background but also directly within the marketing teams of ukactive members. This enables me to understand the challenges from more than one perspective and I love helping to face these head on with new ideas and ways to engage our communities through all phases of marketing and communications.
Being an active part of our industry is important to me. Strategic partnerships with industry leading organisations such as Community Leisure UK (CLUK) and Chief Leisure Officers Association (CLOA) enables me to engage and meet with member operators regularly, whilst also being a familiar face at events from partners such as W3Fit, Active Net, Elevate and ukactive.
I am excited to have the opportunity to work within an industry that shares a common goal of improving the health of our nation and as a team we pride ourselves on the impact our shared work can have. I would be honoured to be elected to the supplier council and support with ukactive’s Vision 2030 strategy. Working together, we can all make a difference
For the last 7 years, Chloe has supported the vast majority of operators to help them improve their customer journey by delivering consumer insights through mystery shopping.
Alongside providing insights to operators, Chloe has also worked on a variety of research projects for suppliers to help them better their offering, as well as partnering with suppliers to create bespoke solutions for operators.
Whilst no gym is complete without equipment, Chloe strongly believes that it’s the ‘sense of belonging’ that will keep customers returning to their local facilities and is therefore committed to being the voice for the suppliers who deliver professional services that provide data and analytics to drive CX.
With experience in delivering B2C and B2B research projects inside and outside of the sector, Chloe will bring extensive knowledge to represent the supplier council.
With revenues in excess of £1.5m and a team of over 35 digital experts, LeisureLabs work with operators across the public and private sectors including full service and low cost brands, boutiques and local authority trusts. Our clients include David Lloyd Clubs, The Gym Group, Psycle, South Downs Leisure and Abbeycroft Leisure. We also work with consumer-facing digital platforms including Endurance Zone, Move Technologies and TrueCoach.
I have dedicated my career to the advancement of the fitness and physical activity sector through the use of technology, and would be privileged to serve as an advocate of ukactive in this role.
As General Manager for Gladstone Software, the leading provider of management software in the UK, we oversee key innovations to enable service users to access over 3,500 facilities across the United Kingdom.
Previously to Gladstone, Steve played a significant role at ukactive, particularly during challenging times such as the pandemic, Brexit, and the energy crisis, underscores his strategic expertise and commitment to the sector. During these periods, Steve's collaboration with key suppliers, including Gladstone Software—a leader in providing leisure management solutions to over 500 operators—highlighted his ability to forge essential partnerships that drive technological adoption and sector growth. His profound industry knowledge, coupled with his strategic and operational expertise, makes him an ideal representative for suppliers, perfectly aligning with ukactive's mission to increase national health through physical activity.
Steve's nomination to the council will bring a blend of insight, experience, and dedication vital for advancing the sector and the broader ecosystem on the ukactive Supplier Council.
Having worked in the industry for over 25 years, both within clubs and in communications, Dawn has built a large network of like-minded brands and individuals. A strong believer in the power of partnership and collaboration, she is passionate about uniting and mobilising this network towards a common purpose: finding new ways to encourage physical activity in people of all ages and abilities.
Dawn is one of the founding members of RISE - the UK women in fitness organisation that campaigns to ensure equality within the industry and sits on the Advisory Board for Industry event Perform X.
Having worked with brands, suppliers and operators across the board, Dawn has a wide breadth of understanding of the needs of the sector and is committed to supporting ukactive and its members to ensure the requirements of all stakeholders are represented.
Elaine began her career in the fitness industry as a lifeguard, swimming teacher and aerobics instructor, which led her to recognise that her passion and talent lies in educating and inspiring others. She has since worked across several sectors, training providers and awarding organisations but is best known for her long history of working with award-winning training provider Future Fit.
Elaine is recognised as a leading voice within the industry, steering and contributing to the future direction of the health and fitness sector. With a career built upon vocational training, Elaine is incredibly passionate about the value of utilising education to raise professional standards for the physical activity workforce.