Rory Sweetlove
Rory Sweetlove, as the Chief Operating Officer of Gold’s Gym under the New Age Fitness division of Al Ahli Holding Group, manages the operation of 22 clubs across 13 locations in the United Arab Emirates and Oman.
He has over 25 years of experience in the Fitness Industry in South Africa, UK, and Europe running multi-site operations, conceptualizing and executing business strategies, and taking companies through cultural change.
As Managing Director of GO Health, a health club chain in South Africa with a forty (40) club roll-out plan in 5 years, he was involved in the brand identity developments, the design of the club and the products, and the overall business strategy.
In the same role with Planet Fitness in South Africa, as the MD of the company, he undertook the review and roll-out of the operating and brand standards taking part in the team that developed the strategy, club design, and site identification for the low-cost arm of the business “Just Gym”.
Prior to that, he was the COO of Virgin Active UK, overseeing the multi-site operation with key focus areas on sales, other revenue, day-to-day operations, and customer service (implementation of NPS) with a landmark achievement of negotiating the global Technogym deal.
Before that he held the COO position for four years in the Virgin Active South African business, managing more than 80 clubs at the time, with a specific focus on the roll out of new sites that includes club design, and the feasibility studies per club. Ensuring the operational and service standard required was executed across 80+ clubs to ensure the customer experience was always of the highest quality. Product development – including the current PT model used by Virgin Active which has become a substantial revenue generator.