Earthlite and its family of brands – Living Earth Crafts, Continuum and TARA Spa Therapy – have announced the addition of appointed two seasoned industry executives to strengthen its leadership team.

Effective immediately, Rod Derifield will assume the role of president of Earthlite and Thorsten Lipfert will become Earthlite’s managing director, EMEA.

Rod Derifield

Derifield joins Earthlite with over 30 years of strategic organisational leadership, fueling expansion through organic growth, production innovation and M&A.

Prior to joining Earthlite, Derifield was a division president at Nexus Brand Holdings, focusing on consumer product businesses.

Jim Chenevey, Earthlite’s CEO, commented: “Rod is a revered, collaborative leader with a long track record of growing and scaling middle-market companies. We’re proud to have jim join our leadership team as Earthlite seeks to capitalise on its many growth opportunities.”

Thorsten LipfertLipfert comes aboard with more than 25 years of experience in the wellness industry, a journey which saw him begin as a physical therapist and entrepreneur.

After managing his own health and wellness centres in Germany, Lipfert discovered his passion for hospitality, working with renowned brands including Kempinski, Fairmont and ESPA and eventually founded his own consulting company, BWELL Hospitality, where he played a key role in launching medical wellness resort Palazzo Fiuggi in Italy.

He later relocated to Dubai and served as head of medical and wellness for Emaar, overseeing project developments, pre-openings and overviewing spa operations within the Emaar Hospitality Group.

Based in Dubai, Lipfert will head up all of Earthlite and LEC’s EMEA business development.

“I’ve known Thorsten for more than 10 years,” said Chenevey. “His knowledge of our wellness industry and his reputation for integrity is unsurpassed. As we seek to expand our presence in the EMEA region, I can’t imagine a better person to lead our efforts.”