The former CEO of Papa Murphy's pizza is switching industries and will now lead Snap Fitness.
Lift Brands, the parent company of Snap Fitness, has named Weldon Spangler as its new chief executive.
Spangler takes over from Snap Fitness founder and former CEO Peter Taunton, who resigned in January.
"[What] I'm going to be working on is ensuring that we are growing rapidly, ensure that we are working well and supporting our franchisees," Spangler said. "We think that there is a big opportunity for growth in the U.S. and also overseas."
Taunton is still on the board and exploring what his next venture will be, Spangler said.
Chanhassen-based Lift Brands runs Snap, a franchiser of 24-hour fitness centers; Steele Fitness, another franchiser; YogaFit Studios franchise; and Fitness on Demand, a virtual-fitness company. It also is the master franchisee in several countries for 9Round, a kickboxing franchise with 750 locations.
Together, Lift has 1 million members at 2,000 current or soon-to-be-open locations in 26 countries. In 2017, Snap had total revenue of $67.8 million, according to its franchiser disclosure document.
Spangler became CEO of Papa Murphy's, a publicly traded company based in Vancouver, Wash., in July 2017. Spangler led the company's review of strategic alternatives that ultimately led to the company's $190 million sale to Montreal-based MTY Food Group, a franchiser of 75 different casual restaurant concepts in Canada, the United States and elsewhere.
"Whether you're working in quick-service restaurant franchising or in fitness franchising, building strong alignment between the franchiser and local owners and their teams is the key to generating long-term success and value creation," Spangler said in a statement.
Spangler's experience includes seven years with Dunkin' Brands Group and its Baskin Robbins franchises and 15 years at Starbucks, including growing the franchise business of Starbucks Japan.
Spangler's move to Minneapolis with his wife comes with the additional benefit that they will be closer to their son, a practicing attorney in town.
"We haven't lived in the same town since he went to college, so it [has] been 12 years since we've lived in the same city with him," Spangler said. "We are excited about it, and I'm sure if you asked him, he'd say he's excited about it too."
Patrick Kennedy • 612-673-7926
