Elaine Jobson

I’m an experienced senior executive who has worked in the Health and Fitness Industry for over 27 years. I have worked directly for some of the industry’s most well known entrepreneurs such as, Mike Balfour OBE, the founder of Fitness First, which was then the fastest growing and largest chain of health clubs in the world. Here I worked my way up through the business ranks including positions such as European Sales Executive and Managing Director of Fitness First for Women for a total of 9 years.

I then made the move to South Africa to work for Virgin Active with most of my time spent in the role of Chief Operating Officer. Virgin Active is the largest chain of health clubs in SA with over 100 health clubs, 650,000 members and 4,800 staff.

Here I was able to learn from Richard Branson school of thinking about building a brand and giving the customer what they want. Following my five years in South Africa, Mike Balfour once again approached me to head up his Asian Health Club expansion, Jatomi Fitness, where I designed, built and operated clubs in Malaysia and Indonesia.

I have since made the move to Australia to work for Jetts Fitness in the roles of Chief Operating Officer, General Manager and for the past 4 years in the role of Chief Executive Officer for Jetts Australia and International.

I have a passion for people and extensive experience with culture change having taken Virgin Active SA to become Deloitte Best Company to Work For. I’m a Blogger on the subject of culture and share my insights as a Keynote on the topic. Check out my blog site at culturehacker.com.au