2025 Speakers

Jon Canarick

Jon Canarick is a Managing Director with 18 years of consumer private equity investment experience. Since joining North Castle in 2001, Jon has actively managed North Castle’s investments across a variety of Healthy, Active, and Sustainable Living sectors and across all job functions at North Castle. Having started his career at NCP as an Associate out of investment banking, Jon has played a crucial role in the development of North Castle and many of its portfolio companies. Jon currently sits on the Board of Directors of Echelon Fit, CR Fitness, Encore Vet Group, Kettlebell Kitchen, The Escape Game, Barry’s Bootcamp, Brooklyn Boulders, Curves, Jenny Craig, Palladio, and SLT. Previously, Jon served on the Board of Directors of Mineral Fusion, gloProfessional, Flatout, International Fitness, Enzymatic Therapy, Performance Bicycle, Avalon and DDF and was actively involved in the Firm’s investment in Grand Expeditions. Prior to joining North Castle, Jon worked in the Financial Sponsors Coverage and Leveraged Finance groups of Bear, Stearns & Co., where he executed leveraged buyout transactions and provided advisory services for financial sponsors. Jon earned a B.B.A. from the University of Michigan and an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School.

Robert Gabbay

Julia Eckhardt

Kimberley Nixon

Kimberley Nixon is Founder and Managing Partner at Open Venture Capital (OVC), an early stage venture capital fund. The fund invests in sport, health and wellness brands that have the ability to expand from product to platform via a unique product, marketing and/or community engagement approach. Open Venture Capital began as Open Venture Studio, and for several founders we continue to invest time and resources to build a clear value proposition and a path to scalability before investing capital. 

Kimberley is an Operator turned VC. Kim holds deep expertise in leading digital transformations and launching new products to market. Over the course of her 20-year career Kimberley has been entrusted by her clients, boards and executive leadership alike to deliver against key strategic objectives tied to growth optimization and operational excellence. Her work has spanned startup to billion dollar organizations, and across several international markets for companies including Under Armour, Manduka Yoga, Health House, Headspace and Tonal.

Michael Susi

Julie Cartwright

Julie Cartwright is the President of Pvolve, a science-led fitness method that pairs low-impact, functional movement and patented resistance equipment to sculpt the body without the wear and tear of high-impact exercise. Through its hybrid fitness model, Pvolve can be experienced globally on-demand through live and virtual classes, and in both brand-owned and growing franchise studio locations. 

Julie joined as President at Pvolve’s founding and has led the brand’s expanding footprint within the fitness space, growing the business from a small startup to a global female-led fitness authority, complete with live virtual classes, expansive on-demand programming, patented equipment, and a growing number of studio locations. 

As President, Julie is responsible for spearheading Pvolve’s overall vision and growth strategy while achieving financial objectives and setting investment priorities for the business.   

An avid Pvolve user herself, Cartwright can often be found at the Chicago studio location or taking classes online through the Live Virtual Studio. 

Tabitha Green

Tal Ziv

Mohammed Iqbal

Mohammed Iqbal strives to enhance people’s lives. He believes the key to leading a healthier life is having access to fitness knowledge and acting on it. He founded SweatWorks, the leading digital agency in fitness design and technology to create meaningful wellness journeys for everyone.

As founder and CEO, Mohammed has established SweatWorks as a wellness technology brand unlike any other. The agency pursues innovation to make fitness engaging, beautiful and accessible to all.

Mohammed also contributes to the wellness industry via speaking engagements at leading events and fitness conferences around the world. His personal commitment to his fitness journey is an inspiration to all those he comes in contact with. Daily, he immerses himself in strategic and creative thinking, fitness, and innovation. For ten years Mohammed has worked at exploring the intersection of fitness and technology, paving the way towards a more tangible wellness and healthcare future

SweatWorks collaborates with top-tier fitness brands to provide design, technology and marketplace expertise to produce first-to-market fitness and wellness products. It has made the Inc 5000 list as one of the fastest growing private companies five years in a row.

Newton Cheng

Natalie Barnes

Laura Munkholm

Tatiana Kuzmowycz

Evelyn Webster

Evelyn Webster is the Chief Executive Officer at SoulCycle. She joined the cycling brand in mid-December of 2020, with the initial challenge of successfully guiding the business and thriving during the pandemic period.

From January 2017 to November 2020, Evelyn was the CEO of Guardian News and Media’s international operations. Since Jan. 2017, she was responsible for directing the brand’s international strategy across the U.S. and Australia.

Before Guardian News and Media, Webster was the executive vice president and group president of the media corporation Time Inc, where she led business operations for 20 U.S. brands, including Essence, InStyle, Real Simple and Travel and Leisure. Prior to that, she was the CEO of British publisher IPC Media.

Webster is native of Yorkshire, England, and graduated with a B.A. in business with marketing honors from the University of Greenwich.

Lubo Smid

Ieuan Owen

Alyssa Shaw