VASA FITNESS APPOINTS NEW SENIOR EXECUTIVES IN HUMAN RESOURCES, REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION TO EXECUTE AMBITIOUS GROWTH

ENGLEWOOD, CO; JUNE 26, 2024 — Today VASA Fitness announces the appointment of three new senior executives to support its ambitious growth goals. Dave McKlveen joins as Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Michele Dodd as Senior Vice President of Development & General Counsel, and Corey Chyr as Vice President of Construction. These strategic additions underscore VASA’s commitment to continuing its Great Place to Work™ status, club expansion, and excellence in delivering top-tier fitness experiences to new and existing members at an unbeatable value.

Dave McKlveen, Senior Vice President of Human Resources 

Dave is a senior leader with experience in rapidly scaling businesses and creating a performance-driven culture focused on people. He has more than twenty years of experience in recruitment, HR, employer branding/marketing, and team leadership with global, corporate and educational organizations including CAVA, Chipotle and Organic Krush Kitchen & Eatery. 

Dave helped CAVA scale from five locations to 280 and helped Chipotle double in size. His hands-on, practical approach and extensive understanding of diversity and inclusion while being very strategic fits the VASA brand perfectly as he strives to create an amazing employee experience, doubling down on employee engagement and making sure team members are aware of the growth potential and total compensation VASA offers.

Michele Dodd, Senior Vice President of Development and General Counsel
Michele is an exceptional deal maker and has the ability to identify and mitigate risks and navigate complex legal matters to help VASA make bold moves to expand its unique fitness brand into new markets. Michele is passionate about bringing VASA’s fitness offering to more people than ever before and will help VASA do this by finding the best locations to continue to grow at the desired rate in collaboration with VASA’s internal and external partners. 

Prior to VASA, Michele was Chief Development Officer and In House Counsel for Planet Fitness Franchisees with 94 locations where she partnered closely with Planet Fitness Corporate and Atlantic Street Capital to achieve aggressive growth goals. She also was Vice President of Development and In House Counsel at Roti Modern Mediterranean where her focus was to develop great restaurants which included initiating and executing their growth strategy, and establishing company forms and procedures for the Development Committee. She has also been Vice President of Growth & Development at Ulta Beauty and worked as a director and senior deal maker in real estate development at companies including Aspen Dental, CVS and Blockbuster.

Corey Chyr, Vice President of Construction
Corey is a management professional with more than 20 years of experience in real estate planning, construction management and project implementation, making him an expert in managing construction projects from start to finish. At VASA, Corey will focus on leveraging his expertise to deliver the same amazing brand experience for members and team members more efficiently. Corey’s focus will be to collaborate with internal and external partners to create a great place to get healthy and happy for members and also a great place to work for the 40-50 new team member roles created in each new club. 

Previously, Corey was Vice President of Construction & Development for companies including Grand Peaks and RedPeak. He is an effective communicator, a dynamic leader and dedicated team player with a commitment to excellence through integrity and vision.

“Dave, Michele and Corey are the leaders we need to execute our ambitious growth strategy successfully,” said Rich Nelsen, Chief Executive Officer at VASA Fitness. “Their combined expertise and leadership will be transformative as we continue to innovate and expand. Dave will lead VASA’s pursuit to continue to be a Great Place to Work and create a thriving culture. Michele will help VASA create a scalable real estate function that will make a significant impact on the organization. Corey’s expertise in development and large format construction will help us streamline and grow in a scalable and cost effective way that will allow us to have a positive impact in new and existing clubs. We couldn’t be more excited for the next chapter.”

VASA is Hiring!
VASA Fitness is proud to be Great Place to Work Certified™ with 72 percent of team members indicating it’s a great place to work, significantly higher than typical U.S. companies. VASA employees get to work in a fun, UPLIFTING environment, helping make positive changes in members’ lives every day. For more information about opportunities, please visit VASA’s careers page at vasafitness-careers. 

About VASA Fitness
VASA Fitness is a high-value, low-price (HVLP) operator of fitness clubs and is among one of the top 20 largest health club operators in the country. VASA’s mission is to uplift communities through approachable, on-trend and affordable fitness. VASA offers its members in more than 57 operating locations, an incredible value proposition with large, full-service clubs for as low as $14.99 a month. VASA offers top-of-the-line equipment, exercise machines, free weights and a wide variety of group fitness classes including STUDIO RED HIIT, STUDIO FLOW infrared yoga and many other amenities to help members customize their personal fitness plans. VASA headquarters are in Englewood, Colorado with club locations across Colorado, Utah, Arizona, Oklahoma, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Nebraska. For more information about VASA Fitness, visit www.vasafitness.com.

Media Contact:
Jaime Cottini for VASA Fitness
press@vasafitness.com