Bath-based MoveGB, the UK’s largest activity membership business, has appointed consumer marketing expert Chris Wood as its head of brand acquisition.
Chris has joined the six-year-old business as an investor as well as a member of its core leadership team. 
He has a wealth of experience in consumer marketing having served as director of brands at hotel group Hilton, MD for Europe at online restaurant-reservation service OpenTable and, most recently, chief commercial officer for fast-growth health and beauty marketplace Treatwell.
He will use his knowledge to further MoveGB’s partner strategy by providing insight into the behaviour of its users, support its customer acquisition strategy, enhance its user loyalty schemes and, most importantly, according to the firm, grow the value of the fitness industry by working collaboratively with its partners to increase retention and lifetime value of its mutual customers.
MoveGB was launched in 2013 by serial entrepreneur Alister Rollins as a disrupter in the fitness market. It is designed around the user, providing unrestricted access to thousands of venues – via the click of a button – from gyms to yoga studios.
This approach has created the UK’s largest range of activities under one membership, with more than 350,000 users and 6,000-plus physical activity providers. It has also proved to be four times better for the consumer than traditional fitness memberships.
The firm, the highest ranked South West private tech in the recent Sunday Times Hiscox Tech Track 100 league table, now aims to create the world’s largest active community and change the way people across globe move was
Chris Wood said: “MoveGB has all the components of becoming a billion-pound business. Highly scalable, total alignment with its partner base and a fantastic product market fit.”
MoveGB commercial director Justin Mendleton added: “Chris is a fantastic addition to our senior team. His wealth of knowledge and expertise will help us build stronger partnerships with our network of providers as we endeavour to acquire more loyal customers for them.”
