Excel Fitness, a Planet Fitness franchisee, has named CJ Bouchard as Chief Executive Officer. Bouchard has worked in the Planet Fitness system since 2006. He joined Excel in 2018 when the Planet Fitness franchise that he founded was acquired. While with Excel, he has served as both President and Chief Operating Officer. Bouchard has also been instrumental to Planet Fitness as an active member of the Planet Fitness Independent Franchise Council.
Excel co-founder Mike Turner will transition from CEO to his new role as Chairman of the Board. Excel has been a portfolio company of Altamont Capital Partners since 2016.
“This is an exciting time for Excel Fitness and I am looking forward to working with Mike, Altamont, and the Board to execute our plan to grow in the months and years ahead,” says Bouchard. “Thanks to the strength of our entire team and the Planet Fitness brand, we are experiencing rapid member growth and an accelerating number of new locations to open in the coming months. Excel has incredible momentum and we are positioned to set the pace for near- and long-term growth in the fitness industry while creating an outstanding work environment and workplace culture for our employees.”
“We’ve been very fortunate to build something incredible at Excel Fitness while remaining steadfast to our mission and core values,” says Turner. “CJ has been an important part of our team as we’ve continued to scale what we view as a highly differentiated platform. He will continue to do great work advancing Excel Fitness and I look forward to maintaining our close relationship as I transition to a new role as Chairman of the Board.”
Excel Fitness began its partnership with Altamont Capital Partners in 2016. At the time, Excel operated 18 Planet Fitness locations in Austin and Dallas. Today, Excel Fitness operates more than 80 locations across Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina, and Virginia. It was named the 2019 Franchisee of the Year by Planet Fitness.
