Martin Seibold, CEO of LifeFit Group, has joined Les Mills as a non-executive director.

Acknowledged as one of the leading club operators in the world, Seibold brings extensive experience and strategic insight to the role.

He has held senior positions in Germany, Benelux, Asia and Australia, as well as spearheading the repositioning of Fitness First as a premium brand in Germany.

His expertise will inform the strategic rollout of the 'Accelerate Club Success' programme, a Les Mills initiative which is driving club operator growth by delivering dramatic live fitness experiences and new group exercise programmes to enable operators to engage current and future generations.

Over the past four years, Seibold and his team have built LifeFit Group from 55 to 140 clubs, creating a multi-brand organisation by bringing together complementary gym and boutique fitness operations, such as Fitness First Black, Fitness First Red, Elbgym, Barry's and The Gym Society.

He recently led the sale of the group by Oaktree Capital Management to Waterland Private Equity Investments, with the deal expected to close in Q3 and will remain as CEO under the new owner.

Phillip Mills, founder and MD of Les Mills, said: “Martin brings a wealth of experience across key markets and invaluable insights into the needs of our club partners.

“With our focus on Accelerating Club Success, Martin is a perfect fit for Les Mills and will strengthen our work supporting clubs and instructors to deliver the next phase of industry growth.

Seibold said: “As a partner of Les Mills, I've always been impressed by the positive attitude of the entire team and excited by the fantastic group exercise programmes.

“The last few years have shown how important community is and the way Les Mills brings this to life across the world is unique. I’m looking forward to enabling more clubs to build powerful communities across all Les Mills’ global markets.”

Seibold will be the sixth member of the Les Mills Board and will join chair, Simon Moutter and board members Phillip Mills, Gina Brogi, Jane Hastings and Sujit Kalidas. Tony Balfour will retire from the board in September.