Dive Brief:
- President and CFO Thomas Bergmann of holding company Life Time Group Holdings will be retiring from the firm effective Dec. 31, the company announced in a Monday press release. The firm, through its subsidiaries, operates more than 150 fitness and recreational sports locations throughout North America.
- Bergmann, who presided over the company’s financials during its initial public offering (IPO) in October 2021, will step down as the company’s financial head effective Aug. 28.
- United Natural Foods Inc (UNFI) and General Mills alum Robert Houghton is moving to take on the CFO role following Bergmann’s departure, the company announced Monday, a switch also effective Aug. 28.
Dive Insight:
Bergmann joined the company as EVP and CFO in February 2016 before he was promoted to his current combined role in October of that year — he will continue on until the end of December as president at his current compensation level. He will also assist Houghton as he transitions into the CFO position, per a Monday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Houghton previously served as SVP, Finance for food and beverage wholesaler UNFI, taking on the role in May 2020, before making the jump to Life Time, per his LinkedIn profile. He has held similar financial roles in other firms including acting as controller for painting and coating manufacturer Sherwin-Williams for a seven-month period in 2017 as well as senior finance director, synergy capture for fellow paint manufacturer Valspar.
During the course of his 15-year tenure with food and cereal maker General Mills, Houghton also served in a variety of financial roles including finance director of sales as well as finance director, investor relations and director of financial operations of Canada.
Houghton will receive a base salary of $600,000 as CFO for Life Time, per the Monday filing, as well as a target annual incentive opportunity equal to about 66.7% of his base salary. He will also receive a $150,000 cash sign-on bonus and, rather than a long-term incentive for 2022, Houghton will receive a $375,000 grant in stock options.
The CFO switch comes a few months shy of Life Time’s one-year anniversary as a public company, with the firm having completed a lukewarm IPO in early October 2021. The holding company raised $702 million in a downsized IPO selling at $18 per share, the bottom of its $18 to $21 market range, per an October 2021 report by Bloomberg. The IPO price would grant the firm a total market valuation of $3.6 billion, per the report.
Life Time is also struggling to recover from pandemic-induced losses. Revenue grew 42.7% to $461.3 million according to the company’s second quarter earnings report released Aug. 10. The company reported a net loss of $2.3 million for the quarter. Stock traded down 8.7% after their second quarter earnings following analyst downgrades, per an Aug. 11 report by Market Beat.
Macroeconomic trends such as inflation prompted more caution from Life Time regarding its outlook for the second half of the year, but the holding company feels “very good about the overall momentum we’re seeing with our business and our positioning as the definitive leader in healthy living and healthy aging,” Bergmann said during the second quarter earnings call.
Life Time did not respond to requests for comment.
