Appointments

Leisure software Oxfordshire-based Gladstone, the leading supplier of leisure management software in the UK and Ireland, has made two C-suite hires.

Steve Scales has joined as chief revenue officer and Mike Rowland as chief operating officer as the company continues its mission to revolutionise the leisure and fitness industry.

Gladstone is used by more 500 health and leisure operators, servicing in excess of 40,000 users and 8,000,000 members across their portfolio.

The new appointments to Gladstone’s leadership team follows the successful launch of cloud-based leisure management offering Gladstone Go.

Scales, who will be responsible for driving revenue forward in his new role, brings with him over 20 years of experience in leadership roles within the fitness and leisure sector.

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Most recently, he held the position of director at not-for-profit industry association ukactive, where his responsibilities included creating solutions to allow the industry to grow sustainably – highly applicable for his new role at Gladstone.

Incoming chief operating officer, Mike Rowland is leaving behind a 24-year-old career with building society Nationwide, including senior roles in digital from head of digital operations to head of innovation.

Prior to that, he was the project manager for the implementation of online banking for Nationwide and helped deliver an app tool allowing customers to contact via live chat.

The pair will report to Gladstone CEO, Claire Rollins, who said: “We felt the experience of both Steve and Mike was highly relevant for us as we continue to accelerate the digital evolution of the sector.

“We are all incredibly excited to welcome Steve and Mike to Gladstone and I am very much looking forward to working with them.”

Scales added: “Despite already being the leader in this space, Gladstone is continuing to grow and revolutionise the industry, with existing and new customers and that is a project I want to be part of.

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“They also have a truly unique culture, which I’ve felt the full support of since joining earlier this month. I’m really excited to get stuck-in, tackling my new role and supporting our customers to grow.”

Rowland said: “I come from a customer service obsessed culture, which has strongly influenced my business outlook. I aim to use that to deliver an industry-leading customer service here at Gladstone, ensuring our customers are getting the most out of our brilliant, slick product.

“I am also someone who greatly believes in the importance of physical health and the opportunity the leisure industry gives people. So, I look forward to bringing my experience of customer service and technological transformation and applying it to a sector where I feel I can give back.”

Gladstone’s industry-leading cloud leisure management platform provides operators across leisure centres, universities and health clubs with everything they need to attract, retain and manage their members, from joining, booking and CRM, through to payments, course management, customer retention and dynamic reporting.