Friday, February 12, 2021
The nonprofit Global Wellness Institute (GWI), the leading research and educational resource for the global wellness industry, today announced the appointment of Rick Stollmeyer, wellness entrepreneur, co-founder of Mindbody and author, to its advisory board.
After stepping away from running Mindbody’s day-to-day activities last year, Stollmeyer penned a new book to inspire wellness entrepreneurs to maximize opportunities in the “fourth wave of wellness.” Building a Wellness Business That Lasts outlines how the at-home, digital wellness revolution will become even more accelerated in the years to come.
“Rick is a true innovator and long-time advocate for wellness businesses and has a proven track record of predicting what’s coming next in our industry,” said Susie Ellis, chair and CEO of GWI. “Of note, Rick oversaw Mindbody’s successful pivot to a business-saving digital platform for tens of thousands of its wellness, fitness and spa clients during COVID lockdown.”
Ellis added: “Everything Rick accomplished at Mindbody was done in service of the company’s purpose to ‘help people lead healthier, happier lives by connecting the world to wellness,’ a key GWI tenet.”
“COVID-19 has laid bare the true societal cost of unwellness, where preventable diseases such as obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and cancer defined populations much more at risk to the ravages of the virus,” said Rick Stollmeyer, founder and executive chairman of Mindbody, “As the world recovers from this historic pandemic, now is the time to partner with governments, employers, healthcare providers and insurance companies to educate and incentivize billions of people toward healthier and happier lifestyles. I’m thrilled to contribute to GWI’s mission of increasing access to wellness for everyone.”
During his two decades at the helm, Mindbody made the “Inc. 5000” list of the fastest-growing private companies for seven years in a row (from 2008 to 2014). In 2015, an IPO raised $100 million, and in 2019, Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm, acquired Mindbody for an eye-watering $1.9 billion.
Stollmeyer has played a key role in the development of the modern wellness industry—from the introduction of the industry’s first integrated online booking and business management systems in the early 2000s to the release of the first fully cloud-based business management solution in 2005 to the groundbreaking Mindbody consumer app that is used by millions of people to connect with wellness services providers worldwide.
As an advisory board member, Stollmeyer will contribute to GWI’s mission of empowering wellness worldwide by facilitating collaboration, providing global research and insight, triggering innovation, and advocating for growth and sustainability, and contributing to the development of the organization’s five pillars: Research, Initiatives, Roundtable Discussions, WellnessEvidence.com and The Wellness Moonshot: A World Free of Preventable Disease.
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