Hans Muench has announced that he will leave his position as IHRSA’s director of Europe from 1 February 2016 to pursue other opportunities.

Over the next seven months, Muench will continue working with IHRSA on further development and implementation of a European strategic plan that he spearheaded last year, as well as overseeing preparations for the 2015 IHRSA European Congress in Marseille.

“With his entrepreneurial spirit, strategic planning ability, and depth and breadth of experience in the fitness industry, Hans has played a key part in shaping IHRSA’s role in Europe,” said Joe Moore, president and CEO of IHRSA.

“We are pleased that he will continue to work with us over the next several months on strategic planning.”

Muench has a long history with IHRSA, having first became involved with the association in 1984 when he was working on an IHRSA-sponsored study of the European club industry as part of his MBA thesis at the University of South Carolina. A decade later, he initiated IHRSA’s international outreach efforts when he became its first director of international development. He left that post in 1999 to return to Germany with his family, but was persuaded to return in 2008 to focus solely on European growth and development as IHRSA expanded its international activity.

“Over the past eight years, Hans has been instrumental in growing participation in IHRSA’s annual European Congress and annual international Convention & Trade Show,” said Cathy McNeil, IHRSA VP of marketing and international operations.

“He has shared his extensive knowledge of the industry in trade articles and at conferences across Europe.”