CoachUp, one of the leading forces in the bourgeoning private coaching community, wasted no time creating headlines in the new year, announcing the hiring of John Kelley to be the Boston sports startup’s new CEO. With over 13,000 coaches and 100,000 athletes, CoachUp has grown in leaps and bounds since its founding in 2012.
“We have huge, huge goals for this company,” noted CoachUp founder Jordan Fliegel following the hiring of Kelley, relating that the new CEO is “the best possible leader and experienced executive.” Kelley arrives after a distinguished career working most recently for the Princeton Review (where he headed marketing and eCommerce). He also has experience working with Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Imagitas, and Monster.com.
Given his experience working with both established companies, as well as startups, Fliegel believes he’s the perfect choice. He could be a leader who has the versatility to bridge CoachUp’s past with what it intends to be in the future, in other words.
Notably, Kelley revealed to BostInno that he first found out about the company when his son showed him Julian Edelman’s video with CoachUp. Edelman joined as part of CoachUp’s “Athlete Advisory Council” in September. Clearly, the partnership with the prominent Patriots receiver has worked out.
“I’m very excited about the opportunity,” Kelley confidently noted, taking time to explain that despite CoachUp’s national presence, it would remain strongly tied to Boston.
“Boston is a big part of the heritage of this company.”
Kelley’s recruitment to CoachUp was, as Fliegel described it, was a “long process,” though clearly the company’s founder seemed thrilled with the result. It’s evidently a sign of the former startup’s continued maturation as a distinct brand in a field that has grown tremendously.
Fliegel, when he spoke to BostInno about the new addition of Kelley, wanted to also make clear that he would remain with the company in a large capacity, with his officially listed role as “Founder & President.”
Image via CoachUp
