Technology platform company Mindbody, San Luis Obispo, California, has a new CEO as co-founder and former CEO Rick Stollmeyer moves into the executive chair role, according to an announcement from the company. The new CEO is Josh McCarter, who had been serving as president. The change is effective Aug. 1.
McCarter is the co-founder and former CEO of Booker Software, a cloud-based spa and salon business management company that Mindbody acquired in 2018. After the acquisition, he joined Mindbody as chief strategy officer and was elevated to president the following year to support the company’s growth.
Stollmeyer will continue to serve on the Mindbody board, participate in the company’s strategic planning and engage in wellness industry thought leadership. Stollmeyer’s forthcoming book, “Building a Wellness Business That Lasts,” is expected to release this fall, providing actionable insights into the future of entrepreneurship in the category.
The president role is now being assumed by Chief Technology Officer Sunil Rajasekar, who will also continue in that role.
In addition, Aaron Stead, current senior vice president of North American sales, will assume the role of chief revenue officer.
“I’m excited to begin the next chapter of my journey here at Mindbody,” McCarter in the announcement. “Rick has built something truly special, and I think I speak for everyone at the company when I thank him for his exceptional leadership and vision. The team Rick has assembled is unmatched in this industry and will be key to our success as we continue to evolve the brand. As executive chair, Rick will continue to provide invaluable guidance as we work to enable our customers’ success.”
Stollmeyer co-founded Mindbody in his garage in 2001, leveraging affordable personal computing technology and the internet to create a desktop software system for boutique fitness studios. The startup expanded to other wellness markets and released the industry’s first integrated web scheduling system in 2002. In 2005 the company released Mindbody Online, the wellness industry’s first cloud-based business management solution. In 2014, the company launched its consumer brand via the Mindbody app. The company went public in 2015 and by 2019 had grown to serve tens of thousands of wellness businesses and tens of millions of consumers worldwide. In February of that year, Mindbody was acquired by Vista Equity Partners.
“Mindbody has been my career and singular passion for more than two decades, and I am most proud of the entrepreneurs we have helped and the jobs we have created,” Stollmeyer said. “It has been an exciting 20 years, but these are still the early innings for Mindbody and the wellness industry. Enormous growth opportunities lie ahead and those are made even more important and compelling by COVID-19. With Josh McCarter now at the helm, Sunil Rajasekar as president/CTO, and the strongest team in our history, Mindbody is well positioned to expand our leadership in the years ahead. There is no doubt we will succeed, and I look forward to supporting the company as executive chair.”
This year, Mindbody launched an integrated Virtual Wellness Platform in the midst of the initial COVID-19 shutdown. Designed to enable wellness businesses of the future to seamlessly integrate in-person and virtual experiences, this new platform is currently experiencing rapid adoption around the globe, according to the company. Mindbody’s vision for the future of the industry is characterized by hybrid delivery models, smaller in-person class sizes, more home-based services, corporate wellness, and greater access for billions of people.