Chequan Lewis is the new CEO of Crunch Fitness, taking over from Jim Rowley, who has transitioned to be executive chair. 

Lewis joined the company as president in February 2024 and has worked alongside Rowley during one of the company's most successful periods – driving significant unit growth, improving operational performance, and fueling innovation, with the introduction of Crunch 3.0.  With a market value of US$1.5 billion, Crunch now has more than 550 locations worldwide, serving 3.5 million members.

"Crunch has never been stronger and that strength reflects years of close collaboration with Jim, our franchise partners, and our teams across the brand, who have built something special over time," says Lewis. "I'm honoured to step into the CEO role and continue that partnership, building on the foundation we've created together. 

“As we enter this next chapter, our focus remains clear: to support our franchise network, invest in innovation, and grow the Crunch community in a disciplined way while staying true to the culture, values, and 'No Judgments, No Limits' experience that define this brand."

Rowley will remain actively involved, focusing on the company's vision, long-term strategy, and overall performance. Since joining Crunch in 2009, he's helped guide the company through a period of accelerated expansion, international growth, increased membership, and the recent strategic investment from Leonard Green and Partners.

"Crunch is on a mission, and it takes thousands of dedicated people across our system to bring that mission to life every day," he said. "Chequan and I have built a close, trusted partnership, which gives me real confidence in his leadership as he steps into the CEO role. I'm excited to move into a role focused on strategy, results, and performance – helping guide our current priorities and future plans that will shape the next phase of Crunch's growth."

This week Rowley was also named an EY US Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 New York Award winner and as a New York award winner, he will be considered by the national judges for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2026 National Awards, which will be presented in November.

In its 41st year, the Entrepreneur Of The Year programme honours business leaders for their ingenuity, courage and entrepreneurial spirit. It celebrates original founders who bootstrapped their business from inception or raised outside capital to grow their company, transformational CEOs who infused innovation into an existing organisation to catapult its trajectory and multigenerational family business leaders who reimagined a legacy business model to strengthen it for the future.

Rowley said: "I'm honoured to receive this award and to join this community of bold business leaders and entrepreneurs. This win reflects our commitment to our team, franchise owners and members. This is a proud milestone on our way to building a world with more Crunch."

Find out more about Jim Rowley in our recent HCM profile. You can read it on mobile here and on desktop here.