On the same day that Mountainside Fitness, Scottsdale, Arizona, celebrated its 30th anniversary, Founder Tom Hatten has named Craig Cote as CEO. Cote had served as president of the company since 2015.
Hatten will now serve as the chairman of the board and will maintain his majority ownership of the company, focused on expanding the brand and running Mountainside’s charitable endeavors.
Hatten shared with Club Industry that the company will be expanding into a new state, although he declined to share which state. Currently, the company has 18 locations in Arizona.
Since Hatten founded the company in 1991 in Ahwatukee, Arizona, as a college student with just $2,000 to his name, he had served as the CEO of the company until now.
Cote originally was to transition into his new role in early 2020 but that was put on hold after fitness centers in the state were ordered closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Craig has been an incredible leader for our company since he joined Mountainside Fitness six years ago,” Hatten said in a media release. “He has always been a top leader in our company, and there is no one else whom I would want to be leading this company.”
Cote has a background in banking, commercial finance and real estate development. During the two decades prior to joining Mountainside Fitness, he served as a chief financial officer, leading acquisitions, negotiating property sales and lease contracts, overseeing inventory disposition and managing real estate portfolios topping $500 million in assets.
“This is a huge opportunity and exciting time to not only be within the fitness industry in Arizona, but to be leading the state’s largest and only locally owned fitness center,” Cote said in the release. “Tom and the entire team at Mountainside Fitness have accomplished so many significant milestones over the last 30 years, and I am thrilled to now be leading this company into our next 30 years.”
Cote’s promotion means Mario Arce, the company’s chief operations officer will be moving into an expanded position.