United PF Partners (United PF), the largest Planet Fitness franchisee with 78 operating clubs, announced today the addition of Shelli Taylor as Chief Operating Officer and part of the company’s executive leadership team.
Taylor brings a wealth of knowledge and experience primarily from her 20 year career at Starbucks Coffee Corporation, where she was most recently the Senior Vice President of Starbucks Coffee China overseeing more than 2,000 stores. Taylor, a graduate of University of California at Riverside, started her career with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company in California and later moved to Starbucks to support opening new market openings in California, Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico. Taylor held Director and Regional Director roles in the Starbucks Western Division before moving to Asia as the Vice President of Operations and Store Development in Taiwan. Taylor was promoted to run New Business Development for Greater China before becoming the Region Vice President for Starbucks in China. In 2010, Taylor left Starbucks to become the Vice President, Center Operations, for the Walt Disney Company, Disney English Division in China delivering immersive English language learning experiences, products and services for children ages 2 to 12 years of age. In 2012, Taylor became the Chief Operating Officer for Education Elements, a pioneer in helping districts design and implement personalized learning solutions. Lastly, in 2015, Taylor returned to Starbucks as the Senior Vice President Starbucks Coffee China leading a team with over 2,000 stores and 22,000 employees.
“I’m honored to have such a well-known and respected industry veteran join our leadership team,” said Trey Owen, CEO, United PF. “Shelli has immense experience that will benefit our growing platform and I’m excited for United PF to achieve new levels of efficiency, profitability and brand excellence under her leadership.”
“I’m thrilled to join the United PF team and bring my experiences in multi-unit leadership to the fitness segment, which has a lot of similarities”, said Shelli Taylor, COO of United PF. “Planet Fitness as a brand has been on my radar for a number of years as a category leader and I look forward to being a part of such a highly respected and growing innovative brand.”
Founded in 1992 in Dover, N.H., Planet Fitness, home of the Judgement Free Zone®, is one of the largest and fastest growing franchisors and operators of fitness clubs with more than 1,400 clubs and over 10 million members. Planet Fitness targets the roughly 83 percent of the U.S. population who does not belong to a gym by delivering a high-quality, high-value fitness experience in a non-intimidating environment.
About United PF Partners
United PF is the largest Planet Fitness franchisee in the U.S. with 78 clubs and development rights to build new clubs across the Midwest, South, and Mid-Atlantic regions. Led by Trey Owen, CEO, United PF is the combination of five leading Planet Fitness franchisees with clubs across nine states, including Alabama, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia. United PF’s keys to success are selecting optimal locations, operating exceptionally clean clubs, providing a friendly customer experience and protecting the Judgement Free Zone®. United PF was created in November 2016 through the combination of five planet fitness franchisees led by JLM Financial Partners and Eagle Merchant Partners. United PF has subsequently added-on two additional franchise groups in September 2017 increasing the count to 78 open clubs.
About JLM Financial Partners
JLM Financial Partners, founded by Larry Meyer and Trey Owen and an affiliate of JLM Financial Investments, is a private investment firm based in Austin, Texas that owned 25 Planet Fitness clubs with a sizable area development agreement which are now part of United PF Partners. JLM also owns and manages assets and investments in healthcare and real estate. For more information, visit http://www.jlmfinancialpartners.com.
About Eagle Merchant Partners
Eagle Merchant Partners is an Atlanta, Georgia based private equity firm focused on lower middle market companies in the multi-unit consumer, logistics and industrial sectors in the Southeastern United States. The partnership is one of the most experienced private equity investors in the region, investing in sixteen companies with more than $1.5 billion in revenues. For more information, visit http://www.eaglemerchantpartners.com.
