World Class Romania, the market leader in the local wellness industry, has appointed Swede Kent Orrgren as Chief Executive Officer to further lead the company's national expansion. Orrgren replaces fellow Swede Mikael Fredholm, who will continue as a board member of World Class Romania as member of the board.

Fredholm, who gave up a position as CEO of World Class International to become the CEO and a minority shareholder of World Class Romania in February 2014, when the company was bought by Polish investment fund Resource Partners, has managed one of the fastest expansions on the local market. World Class has tripled its network from 11 fitness centers, in early 2014, to 31 centers in October 2016, by opening new units and buying several competitors.

“Having achieved in positioning World Class as the undisputable leader in fitness in Romania, and after 12 years of shaping and implementing its mission to improve the health and lifestyle of Romanians, I will continue pursuing this vision from a strategic role within the company,” Fredholm said in a press release.

Kent Orrgren has more than 25 years of experience in the international health & wellness industry. He has previously held various management positions for leading fitness chains in Sweden.

“We are pleased to announce the appointment of Kent Orrgren, who is spearheading World Class’ expansion of our operations nationally. With the growth of our network to more than 30 clubs, World Class Romania entered a new phase in its development that requires it to be lean and scalable, while maintaining the highest standards in customer experience,” said Dan Farcasanu, Investment Director with Resource Partners, the Polish investment fund that owns World Class in Romania and Serbia.

Following the acquisition of Club Moving, in the first part of this year, World Class Romania currently has 31 fitness centers nationally where 45,000 members have access to 425 top trainers, over 60,000 programs and classes annually, 18 pools, and more than 45,000 sqm of fitness space.

World Class Romania has 20 fitness centers in Bucharest and another 11 in Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Constanta, Iasi, Pitesti, Craiova, Ploiesti, Otopeni, and Bacau.

In 2015, World Class Romania had a turnover of EUR 11.5 million, up from EUR 9.5 million in 2014 and EUR 8.2 million in 2013.

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editor@romania-insider.com