Active Nation managing director John Oxley is to join rival operator Places for People Leisure (PPL) as operations director and will also sit on its main Board of Directors.

Oxley has spent seven years at the Active Nation helm and was previously operations director at Everyone Active owner SLM. His is the latest high-profile appointment at PPL, following the recent announcement of Sandra Dodd as the new CEO.

“There is an immense amount of talent in the team at Places for People Leisure. It is a key time to be joining such a significant player in the leisure industry and I am excited for what the future holds in my operations role,” said Oxley, who takes up his new post on 20 April.

“Making a real difference to the health of the nation and encouraging more people to become more active drives my commitment to the sector, and new employer.”

PPL currently manages more than 115 facilities across England and partners with 36 local authorities. It has set its sights on increasing the portfolio throughout 2015 as the demand for local authorities to outsource their leisure management provision continues to grow.

The new PPL chief executive Sandra Dodd added: “John’s input will be instrumental in supporting our ambitious growth plans over the coming months.

“Highly regarded within the industry, John has a great track record, most recently in transforming Active Nation into a successful leisure operator and campaigning charity. We look forward to welcoming John to the team to help us maintain our reputation as a high quality leisure management social enterprise.”

• To read an exclusive interview with Dodd, keep an eye out for the forthcoming March edition of Health Club Management magazine.