Planet Fitness picks retail veteran for CFO

Dive Brief:

• Planet Fitness appointed Jay Stasz — most recently the finance chief and treasurer of for-profit thrift store operator Savers Value Village —  to take the health club chain’s CFO seat, effective Nov. 15, according to a release and securities filing Wednesday.
• Stasz, 57, will replace outgoing CFO Tom Fitzgerald, who has held the role for more than four years. In February, the Hampton, New Hampshire-based company announced Fitzgerald had indicated his intention to retire and that it had launched a “comprehensive search” for a new CFO with the help of an executive search firm, CFO Dive previously reported.
• As part of the company’s transition plan, Stasz will join the company on Nov. 4, and work with Fitzgerald for about two weeks ahead of assuming the CFO role. Fitzgerald will stay on as an employee of the company through Dec. 31 and will work “in a consulting capacity” through Mar. 31, according to the filing.

Dive Insight:

Planet Fitness’ new finance chief will be joining a C-suite that is also acclimating to a new CEO, Colleen Keating, who took the post in June. She replaced interim CEO Craig Benson, a member of the board who stepped into the role on a temporary basis after the company’s board of directors ousted then CEO Chris Rondeau in September 2023, CFO Dive previously reported. 

In a statement included in the release, Keating cited Stasz’s experience and track record for optimizing growth in the retail and consumer sectors, as well his collaborative leadership style. “I’m confident he will support the execution of our strategic imperatives and our ongoing work with our franchisees to drive profitable growth,” Keating said.

Stasz has more than 25 years of experience as a finance leader, and was instrumental in the 2023 initial public offering of Savers, where he worked from 2022 to this year, according to Planet Fitness. Prior to Savers, he worked for seven years at Ollie’s Bargain Outlet, including holding the role of CFO from 2018 to 2022.

Under his leadership, Ollie’s, a retailer of closeout merchandise and excess inventory, saw its revenue more than double to $1.8 billion, according to Planet Fitness. From October 2013 to November 2015, Stasz held various finance roles at Sports Authority, including senior vice president of finance and accounting, according to his LinkedIn account. Stasz has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Southern California. 

Stasz’s compensation package at Planet Fitness includes an annual base salary of $580,000, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Beginning in fiscal year 2025, he will be eligible for an annual cash bonus with a target of 75% of his salary. In addition, as part of a “new hire award,” he will be granted an equity award with a target grant date fair value of $500,000.