Franchising
An idea is only as good As the people that execute it
A unique idea like Fitniks® takes people with special experience to bring it to life. From our Founder down, that’s what we have!
Donna Moore
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Founder, Donna Moore developed the Fitniks concept in early 2004. Donna is the Former CEO of Discovery Zone, a children’s pay for play concept owned by Viacom Entertainment. She was CEO of Hit or Miss and Motherhood Maternity, national retail chains. She was former President of Laura Ashley PLC and Senior VP of The Disney Store/The Walt Disney Company and Williams-Sonoma. As the first woman vice-president of the Marriott Corporation, she headed merchandising efforts worldwide. She also served as EVP of Voyager Expanded Learning, a children’s education company. Her past Board positions include Williams-Sonoma, Loewen Group (now Alderwoods), Motherhood Maternity, Board Chairman of Discovery Zone and Hit or Miss. She presently serves on the Boards of Ablest Inc., a staffing company, and The Disney Store. Both companies are publicly traded. Ms. Moore resides in Cameron Park, California.
Richard Gabe
Board of Directors
Mr. Gabe is an expert in brand development and marketing serving brands like USAA, T. Rowe Price, Time Warner Cable and others as a former Sr. Vice President, Executive Director of Bernstein Rein Advertising, Kansas City, MO. His resources were responsible for the design and marketing of Fitniks. His broad network in the franchise community will be instrumental in developing the strategic alliances with major corporations. Mr. Gabe has worked with recognized children's brands such as Nickelodeon and Discovery Zone.
Rich also served as Senior Vice President of Strategic and Group Marketing Worldwide for Viacom/Blockbuster Entertainment Group. As the senior marketing officer for the Entertainment Group he analyzed, planned, and optimized the company's strategic marketing efforts for both corporate and all lines of business, including: Blockbuster Video Domestic and Inteternational, Blockbuster Music, Showtime Networks, Virgin Interactive, Paramount Parks, Discovery Zone, as well as all technology and retail related development. Mr. Gabe is an author and an international authority on marketing and brand development.
Jude Lange
Board of Directors
Founding Team and Board of Directors
Jude Lange has more than 20 years experience in the video game, children’s learning and product development fields. She is presently CEO of The Brain Center, Inc. She led the team of the New Products Development Group for LeapFrog, Inc. a publicly held company that makes electronic learning toys for children. She was Co-founder of Crystal Dynamics, a video game company that was successfully sold to Eidos, Inc. Prior to that she held senior level positions at Sega Corporation of America, and The Learning Company, the premier education software publishing company. Ms. Lange honors include The Wall Street “Financial Woman of the Year “award and she was also selected as one of Forbes “Top 10 Successful Women in Silicon Valley”. Ms. Lange currently sits on the boards of The VanHeyst Group, Merry Edwards Vineyard and previously served on the OmWare board during its merger with Intuit.
Alex Sickinger
National Director of Training
Alexandra Sickinger is the National Director of Training for Fitniks. A graduate of San Francisco State University (with a major in kinesiology and a minor in coaching), she joined Fitniks after spending several years as a K-8 physical education teacher. In addition, she has worked since 1997 as a coach, counselor and private instructor for school-aged children.
Outside of Fitniks, Miss Sickinger is a world-class catcher, having won a 2004 Gold Medal in the World Cup of Women’s Baseball. She is also certified as a personal trainer and as an AHA CPR instructor.
Roger Pastore
Board of Directors
Mr. Pastore has over 35 years in the financial services industry including portfolio management, investment banking and mortgage banking. Prior affiliations included senior financial positions with Fleet Bank in Providence R.I., SVP Finance with the Student Loan Marketing Association (Sallie Mae) in Washington, DC, Managing Director with CS First Boston in NYC, NY and as President and CEO of Pulte Mortgage Corporation in Denver, Colorado. Most recently, Mr. Pastore founded RCP Financial Group, Inc. which provides consulting services to the Mortgage banking industry. Roger is a graduate of New York University and served as President of Delta Sigma Pi International Business Fraternity. He is on the Board of Trustees of Mercy Housing, Inc., the National Housing Endowment, which is the philanthropic arm of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and is a member of the Mortgage Housing Roundtable.
Robert Tufts
Counsel and Board of Directors
Bob Tufts, Esq., is a founding law partner of Tufts Stephenson & Kasper, LLP and was formerly a partner with Jackson Tufts Cole and Black, LLP for over 35 years. He specializes in corporate representation for start-up and emerging businesses, business financings, mergers and acquisitions, and in corporate taxation. Mr. Tufts graduated from New York University and received his law degree from Harvard Law School.
Tom Gruber
Chairman , Advisory Board
Mr. Gruber graduated from the University of Minnesota. He served as a Company Commander in the United States Army with the exit rank of Captain. For 18 years he worked with McDonald’s Corporation as Director of Marketing for McDonald's USA, and then as Vice President of International Marketing where he directed the marketing launch of McDonald’s into 14 countries in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. In 1987 he helped launch Blockbuster Entertainment Corporation: as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer he developed the marketing programs that propelled Blockbuster Video to become the world’s largest video rental chain. He retired from Blockbuster to become Chairman of AVEX Home Entertainment Corporation. In 1995, Mr. Gruber became Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of AutoNation USA, where he developed the company name, logo, merchandising concepts and the marketing program that launched AutoNation USA to become the initial flagship of a multi-billion dollar automobile empire - the largest automotive retailer in the USA. In 1997, Advertising Age named Mr. Gruber one of America’s "Top 100 Marketing Innovators." He was a past Director of the Armed Services YMCA of the USA. He served several years on the Board of Directors of Florida's Museum of Discovery & Science and on the Board of Directors of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in Washington, D.C., where he is currently a Board Member Emeritus.
Maria T Bailey
Advisory Board
Maria T. Bailey is an award-winning author, host of Mom Talk Radio, host of The Balancing Act on Lifetime TV, nationally known speaker and the foremost marketing authority on marketing to moms. Her company, BSM Media is a full service marketing and media firm. She is the author of "Marketing to Moms: Getting Your Share of the Trillion Dollar Market", "The Women’s Home Based Business Book of Answers" & "Trillion Dollar Moms: Marketing to a New Generation of Mothers".
Dr. Dan Drury
Advisory Board
Dr. Dan Drury is a leading authority in the field of health and exercise science. He is a Fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine where he has served as President of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter. He currently is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Health Sciences at Gettysburg College. He has more than twenty years of experience on the front lines of sports medicine and health promotion and he has presented his research extensively in the US and abroad. Dr. Drury's experience and practical knowledge of the fitness industry combined with his in depth understanding of human physiology, give him a unique and valuable perspective as a member of the FITNIKS Advisory Board.
Joe Miller
Advisory Board
Joe Miller has a 30 year history of creating engaging consumer experiences based on a wide range of interactive technologies. He is currently the vice president of platform and technology development at Linden Research, Inc. the creators of the popular virtual world called Second Life. Prior to joining Linden Lab, Miller founded Perilux Group, a product design company that was engaged to develop several award-winning products now offered by LeapFrog, Bright Things, and Apple. Past experience includes senior executive positions at Atari, Koala Technologies, Epyx, Convergent, and SEGA of America. He was a founder and CEO of the Knowledge Universe Interactive Studio, and president of MindQ Publishing, two companies focused on lifelong learning services and applications. His diverse career started at Battelle Memorial Institute, where he created a portion of the developer training curriculum for the PLATO educational network.
Leonard Swartz
Advisory Board
Leonard Swartz has been involved in franchising for over 40 years. Mr. Swartz provides insight and guidance in areas vital for successful franchise and alternative methods of expansion both on a domestic and worldwide basis. These areas include planning, operations, consulting, compliance, marketing and sales. Leonard brings to clients a wealth of national and international franchise and non-franchise management experience gained in positions such as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Operations Officer of leading companies. Areas of expertise include: fast food, manufacturing and distribution, permanent and temporary personnel services, educational institutions, hospitality, credit and collection, printing, signs, steel building fabrication and construction of retail outlets.