Virgin Sport Sets UK Targets As Ceo Departs

Virgin Sport has announced it is planning to re-focus its activities on the UK market after scaling back its global ambitions, with chief executive Mary Wittenberg set to leave the organisation and close its US office in New York City.

The lifestyle and fitness company, owned and run by investment firm Virgin Group, had previously planned to expand with a portfolio of new sport festivals and active lifestyle products in cities and communities around the world.

In January 2017, Virgin Sport unveiled its first series of mass-participation events, with four ‘festivals of sport’ taking place last year in Hackney and Westminster and Oxford in the UK, as well as San Francisco in the United States.

However, in a post on social media platform Instagram, Wittenberg revealed that she would be leaving the business, with the international focus also scaled back.

 

Hi friends, happy last day of this year. Thanks so much for all your enthusiasm and support as we launched Virgin Sport. While we started with initial plans for events in the US and UK, we have recently decided to focus solely on the UK business as of the start of the year. So, our global team and I will close our NYC office and leave the business at the end of the year. Which is now upon us! We’ll be cheering our awesome UK team on from afar. It’s been a great experience launching Virgin Sport. And, an amazing privilege and lots of fun to work with our team and so many of you. You inspired and helped us in more ways than we can count. I’m excited for the new year and new beginnings. So many thanks. Sport on! Mary

A post shared by Mary Wittenberg (@marywruns) on Dec 31, 2017 at 4:46am PST

Wittenberg said in her post on New Year’s Eve: “While we started with initial plans for events in the US and UK, we have recently decided to focus solely on the UK business as of the start of the year. So, our global team and I will close our NYC office and leave the business at the end of the year. Which is now upon us! We’ll be cheering our awesome UK team on from afar.

Founded in May 2015, Virgin Sport was given a mandate of establishing and staging mass-participation events in running, cycling and various other sports.

Wittenberg was named chief executive of Virgin Sport in May 2015 after ten years as president and chief executive of New York Road Runners and race director of the New York City Marathon.