FÔLD Appoints Five-Strong Commercial Team as Brand Moves From Start-Up to Scale-Up

FÔLD, one of the UK’s leading Pilates brands, today announces five senior commercial appointments as the business moves from a direct-to-consumer and independent B2B model into a full D2C, B2B, and B2C business at scale.

The appointments — Gianna Rinaldi, Sarah Cowperthwaite, Milly Church, Sophie Argyrou, and Eleonora Villari — bring together experience from Primal Strength, Life Fitness, Technogym, and Calo. The team is supported by Frank van de Ven, former CCO of Life Fitness, who has been working with FÔLD’s leadership on commercial strategy and structure.

Matt Harras, Co-Founder & CCO, FÔLD, said: “Pilates is one of the most significant and sustained movements in health and fitness globally, and FÔLD is building the team to welcome as many people as possible into it. Today marks the moment we move from start-up to scale-up. This team combines the operational knowledge of what studios and operators need with the commercial firepower of people who have built and scaled some of the biggest brands in the industry.”

The appointments:

Gianna Rinaldi — Head of Global Distribution. Gianna joins FÔLD bringing over 20 years of fitness industry experience across sales, sales operations, and international expansion, most recently as Commercial Director at Primal Strength. She will lead FÔLD’s push into new markets worldwide.

Sarah Cowperthwaite — Key Account Manager. Sarah joins from Technogym, where she built enterprise account management experience with one of the world’s leading fitness equipment brands. At FÔLD, she will own the brand’s most strategically important commercial relationships — multi-site studio groups, hotel chains, spas. gym groups, universities, and corporate wellness operators to name a few.

“Reformer Pilates is one of the most exciting growth categories in health and fitness right now, and FÔLD has established a genuinely differentiated position at the forefront of it. I’m looking forward to building deep, long-term partnerships with the operators and organisations shaping the future of the sector.”

Milly Church — Core Sales Manager (South). Milly joins from Calo, the personalised nutrition brand, where she led partnership and affiliate management. A trained Pilates instructor, she brings both industry passion and commercial experience in community-led growth and digital-first partnerships, and will lead new business development across the South of the UK.

“I trained as a Pilates instructor and fell in love with the practice, so joining FÔLD feels like a natural extension of something I’m genuinely passionate about. The product is exceptional and the commercial opportunity is significant.”

Eleonora Villari — Core Sales Manager (North). Eleonora joins from Life Fitness, bringing account management and sector experience from one of the world’s largest fitness equipment brands. She will lead FÔLD’s commercial development across the North of England, a fast-growing market for boutique fitness and premium wellness.

“The North of England represents a real growth opportunity for premium Pilates equipment. The appetite for high-quality studio and wellness facilities is growing fast, and FÔLD is well positioned to meet it.”

Sophie Argyrou — Inside Sales Executive. Sophie manages FÔLD’s inbound commercial enquiries and builds the qualified pipeline that feeds the wider sales team, ensuring every studio, gym, hotel, or operator that expresses interest is met with a fast, informed response.

FÔLD’s founders bring direct operator experience from Virgin Active and Aspria; the new commercial team adds the execution experience of some of the industry’s largest brands. FÔLD is already installed at studios and venues including Nuffield Health, Westfield Health, The Balmoral, The Q Hotels Collection, Deutsche Bank, and England Rugby. The expanded team will build on these relationships, open new UK partnerships, and execute FÔLD’s global distribution strategy.