Bryan K. O’Rourke Announces Departure as CEO of Core Health & Fitness After Successful Turnaround

    Bryan K. O’Rourke announced that he will step down from his role as Chief Executive Officer of Core Health & Fitness

    New Orleans, Louisiana — September 10, 2025 — Bryan K. O’Rourke announced today that he will step down from his role as Chief Executive Officer of Core Health & Fitness after a highly successful two-year tenure.

    During O’Rourke’s leadership, Core achieved double-digit growth in both revenues and EBITDA, while launching numerous innovative products, including the APEX console line, which introduced advanced over-the-air (OTA) technologies and expanded the company’s digital capabilities.

    Reflecting on the decision, O’Rourke stated:

    “Leading Core Health & Fitness has been a privilege and one of the most rewarding chapters of my career. Together with a world-class team of over 1,700 professionals, we achieved record performance and launched groundbreaking products that advance the fitness industry. I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished, and I have no doubt Core will continue to thrive.”

    O’Rourke will continue in his many other leadership roles, which include:

    • CEO of Vedere Ventures, a strategic investment and advisory firm driving growth and innovation across fitness and wellness.
    • President of the Fitness Industry Technology Council (FIT-C), a global nonprofit shaping technology adoption and standards in health and fitness.
    • Partner and advisor in several ventures within the fitness, technology, and franchising ecosystems.

    “As I transition from my role at Core, I look forward to dedicating more energy to my ventures at Vedere, my work with FIT-C, and my partners around the world,” O’Rourke added. “The future of fitness is being rewritten at the intersection of innovation, digital transformation, and human experience—and I’m excited to keep contributing to that story.”

    About Vedere Ventures

    Vedere Ventures is a global investment and advisory platform focused on fitness, health, and wellness. The firm partners with entrepreneurs, operators, and innovators to scale businesses, drive digital transformation, and shape the future of human performance.

    About Bryan K. O’Rourke

    Bryan O’Rourke is a leading global expert on technology, consumer, and business trends in the health club and fitness industry. He has delivered Keynote speeches to hundreds of audiences on four continents. Bryan has also contributed to eight books on the fitness industry, and his views have been shared in leading periodicals like the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, among many others.

    He is President of the Fitness Industry Technology Council and Chairman of the private equity firm Vedere Ventures, which has investments in Europe, Asia, and the Americas. He has worked with and advised some of the leading global fitness brands in strategy, marketing, business development, finance, and technology. His M&A practice has overseen 20 transactions on the buy and sell side in the past 9 years. Bryan served as the Chief Executive Officer of Core Health and Fitness, a leading global manufacturer and distributor of commercial fitness equipment brands like Stairmaster, StarTrac, Nautilus, Schwinn, and others.

    Bryan has served on the HFA board of directors, been an industry advisor to the American Council on Exercise, and contributed in leadership roles to the Medical Fitness Association and the GGFA, among other organizations. He was a co-founder of the Women in Fitness Association.

    Bryan has a BS in Finance from the University of New Orleans and an MBA from Southeastern Louisiana University. He has completed academic work on a Ph.D. In Financial Economics and completed professional studies in technology, strategy, and innovation at Harvard, Stanford, and the University of Chicago.

    You can learn more at bryankorourke.com.

    Connect on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryankorourke/

    Email Bryankororuke@gmail.com