The Global Wellness Institute (GWI) has appointed Rick Stollmeyer, wellness entrepreneur, co-founder of Mindbody and author, to its advisory board.

During his two decades at the helm, Mindbody made the “Inc. 5000” list of the fastest-growing private companies for seven years in a row (from 2008 to 2014).

In 2015, an IPO raised US$100 million, and in 2019, Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm, acquired Mindbody for US$1.9 billion.

After stepping away from running Mindbody’s day-to-day activities last year, Stollmeyer penned a new book named Building a Wellness Business That Lasts to inspire wellness entrepreneurs to maximise opportunities in the “fourth wave of wellness.”

“Rick is a true innovator and long-time advocate for wellness businesses and has a proven track record of predicting what’s coming next in our industry,” commented Susie Ellis, GWI chair and CEO.

“Everything he accomplished at Mindbody was done in service of the company’s purpose to ‘help people lead healthier, happier lives by connecting the world to wellness,’ – a key GWI tenet.”

As an advisory board member, Stollmeyer will contribute to GWI’s mission of empowering wellness worldwide by facilitating collaboration, providing global research and insight, triggering innovation, advocating for growth and sustainability, and contributing to the development of the organisation’s five pillars: Research, Initiatives, Roundtable Discussions, WellnessEvidence.com and The Wellness Moonshot: A World Free of Preventable Disease.

“As the world recovers from this historic pandemic, now is the time to partner with governments, employers, healthcare providers and insurance companies to educate and incentivise billions of people toward healthier and happier lifestyles,” said Stollmeyer

“I’m thrilled to contribute to GWI’s mission of increasing access to wellness for everyone.”

According to the GWI, Stollmeyer has played a key role in the development of the modern wellness industry. From the introduction of the industry's first integrated online booking and business management systems to the release of the first fully cloud-based business management solution, as well as the groundbreaking Mindbody consumer app used by millions to connect with wellness services providers worldwide.