Pisani Named CEO of Life Fitness

ROSEMONT, ILLINOIS (July 25, 2023) – Commercial fitness equipment company Life Fitness announced 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.

Pisani brings over 25 years of experience leading commercial expansions of global outdoor, recreation and sports apparel brands. Most recently he served as CEO of the Outdoor & Recreation Business Segment of Newell Brands. In this role, Pisani led the expansion of iconic brands including Coleman, Marmot, Contigo and Campingaz.

Prior to Newell, 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. 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 NFL, NBA, NHL and NCAA. He also executed growth strategies for major consumer brands including PepsiCo and Kraft. Pisani earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Northern Illinois University and his Master of Business Administration degree from Lewis University. 

“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 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 Stoneham for his important contributions to Life Fitness during his tenure to position the Company for the exciting next phase of growth. Under 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 Stoneham’s continued involvement with the Company as a Senior Advisor to the Life Fitness Board of Directors.

Augie Nieto, who was inducted into NSGA’s Sporting Goods Industry Hall of Fame in 2008, was a co-founder of Lifecycle (which became known as Life Fitness) in 1980. Nieto passed away February 22 after a long battle with ALS.