The new boss of leisure trust, Oldham Community Leisure (OCL), says the fitness industry needs to drive up standards and champion health improvement.

Stuart Lockwood, the current operations director for the Trust, will take over from current chief executive, Ian Kendall on 1 January next year.

Stuart said: "As a result of Ian's eight years at the helm of OCL we have seen some fantastic results in Oldham. Facilities have significantly improved overall and there is real growth in the numbers of people enjoying regular exercise as a result. Ian is a big personality with big boots to fill, but over the past two years I've developed a solid understanding of the organisation and where further changes can be made to allow us to continue to improve."

"As an industry overall, I feel that the standards of customer service fall below some of our colleagues in other service sectors such as hotels and retail, and we must strive to catch up if we are to be a credible competitor for the discretionary spend. Allied to that challenge is the need to position ourselves as the number one solution to improving the health of the nation with imaginative and effective health improvement interventions. In simple terms, we need to make ourselves a more attractive option as a visitor experience, and a more relevant option for improving the health of the nation."

Stuart has more than 20 years experience in the fitness and leisure industry, as well as academic qualifications in leisure management, physical education, and psychology. Starting out in the hospitality industry, Stuart moved into health and fitness and has held a number of senior management positions within both the private and public sector.

Collaborative working is Stuart's vision for the future of OCL. He explained: "We are continuing to develop our partnerships with the NHS and our neighbours at Link4Life in Rochdale. Financial support for the delivery of local leisure services from councils is only likely to be squeezed further in the years ahead, and I see collaboration as the obvious way forward to deliver services effectively and efficiently."

Current chief executive, Ian Kendall, believes that Stuart's commercial experience has helped the Trust perform more efficiently, enabling them to meet council targets with limited impact on users.

He said: "OCL is a successful, forward thinking organisation thanks to people like Stuart. Because of his previous experience working with Parkwood Leisure he took a more commercial approach to improving how we operated and during his two years as director of operations, his common-sense approach coupled with his initiative and drive, helped OCL go from strength to strength.

"As chief executive, Stuart will be using his extensive fitness industry experience, in both the private and public sector, as well his people and management skills to cement OCL's position as a force for health improvement, rather than simply a leisure services provider."