At its June 3 meeting, the Health & Fitness Association board of directors elected Chris Smith as chair, Luke Carlson as vice chair, and Al Noshirvani as treasurer, the association announced.
Smith has served on the Health & Fitness Association board for four years, the last year as vice chair. He is president and CEO of Fitness World Canada, a position he has held since 2020.
His career in fitness began as a personal trainer 25 years ago. Since then, he has served in various roles at 24 Hour Fitness, Bally Total Fitness, and Steve Nash Fitness World, which he joined in 2011 as vice president of sales and fitness before becoming COO and then CEO in 2014. He later became an owner and rebranded the business as Fitness World Canada. Smith is also the principal of All Things Fitness and Wellness, a media brand covering the fitness industry, and is founder and CEO of the British Columbia Personal Training Institute.
“Chris is an inspiring and empowering leader and his background as an international executive will help the Health & Fitness Association build on our recent transformation,” said HFA President & CEO Liz Clark. “His attention to detail and strategic vision will help us continue to deliver on our core strategic pillars of advocacy, education, and research and to continue working to elevate our member services, engagement, and operational performance,” she added.
Carlson is the founder and CEO of Discover Strength, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Carlson speaks around the world on leadership, management, and evidence-based exercise and is a top-rated Vistage speaker in North America. He has co-authored two books and several articles on resistance training which have been published in scientific journals.
Noshirvani joined the board two years ago. He owns Fitness Club Management Inc. in Rockville, Maryland, and co-founded Alta Technology Group, a boutique management consulting firm. He also is managing director of Integrity Square, a financial advisory and early stage growth equity firm focused on the health, active lifestyle, and outdoors sector. Prior to his current work, Noshirvani co-founded Motionsoft, a software and financial service company serving the fitness industry. He is a member of Big Brothers Big Sisters, the National Iranian American Council, and chair of the Georgetown Day School Hopper Fund.
“Luke and Al bring important strengths to the board,” Clark said. “Luke offers deep knowledge in personal training and the science behind resistance training, and experience in business operations and franchising. Al has M&A, venture capital, and consulting expertise along with experience on the supplier and club operator side.”
