NEW YORK, NY – March 17, 2017 – ClassPass, the leading membership to the world’s largest fitness network, today announced that Founder, Payal Kadakia, will now serve as the company’s Executive Chairman and has named Fritz Lanman as CEO, effective immediately.
“I am thrilled to be appointing Fritz to CEO. He has been a true partner to me for the past three years, and there is nobody else I would trust with this role,” said Kadakia. “Fritz knows this business, vision and team better than anyone, and I’m confident in his leadership and operational expertise that will help us realize what we’ve always envisioned for ClassPass.”
Lanman, who most recently served as ClassPass Executive Chairman, led both the company’s Seed and Series A rounds of financing before formally joining the company’s executive team. Kadakia added, “Fritz and I have had a long-standing partnership sharing the same vision of improving people’s lives and giving our members, partners, and team the best ClassPass experience possible.”
“Payal is a brilliant founder who has invented a way for people to fall in love with staying active. Her drive to motivate people to live a better life is inspiring and something I got behind from the day we met, so I’m grateful for the opportunity to expand upon her accomplishments and vision,” said Lanman. “While ClassPass is already one of the top fitness platforms, I look forward to accelerating our technical prowess, especially as it relates to machine learning to drive better customer recommendations and partner revenue.”
As Executive Chairman, Kadakia will continue to be the driving force for product, brand and innovation. “I am excited to continue to partner with Payal to expand the platform into adjacent fitness categories like sports, gyms, outdoor workouts and on-demand videos,” says Lanman.
Lanman previously served as an executive at Microsoft and is a serial entrepreneur, having started and grown three venture-backed companies, including Livestar, Verst and Doppler Labs; he continues to serve as Chairman of the latter two companies. Lanman is also a seed investor whose portfolio includes Square, Pinterest, Wish, Teespring, Flexport, Formlabs and Flexe, among others. Lanman received a degree from Yale University.
With over 30 million reservations to date, ClassPass is introducing new users to fitness by merchandising and surfacing over one million classes available on the platform to the benefit of both its members and partners. Based on evolving market trends and opportunities, ClassPass is further investing in innovative technology and infrastructure while expanding its total addressable market and marching towards profitability. The company will continue to launch inspiring products, doubling-down on sophisticated technology with the goal of connecting members to a broader range of fitness activities that align with their varied needs and goals.