It was an \u201cenormous privilege\u201d to help lead Les Mills International\u2019s next phase of growth, Paris said.<\/p>\n
He’d always admired companies like Les Mills International that had a global impact, incoming chief executive Jason Paris said. Photo \/ Andrew Cornaga \/ www.photosport.nz<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat Phillip, Jackie and the Mills family<\/a> have built over many decades is one of New Zealand\u2019s great business success stories.\u201d<\/p>\n The married father of three had always admired New Zealand brands that had global impact.<\/p>\n \u201cLes Mills International has done exactly that. It has an outstanding team, an iconic brand and an incredible opportunity ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n Paris, who is also a longtime Les Mills member, said every great business he\u2019d worked in was obsessed with the needs of the customer, and Les Mills was a great example of this, with a global network of instructors, club partners and participants.<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t wait to start learning from these amazing people and supporting their success as we accelerate our mission to create a fitter planet.\u201d<\/p>\n Paris\u2019 appointment was part of a planned leadership succession after Phillip Mills\u2019 three-year commitment to lead the business as managing director through an important period of strategic and organisational development, including overcoming the disruption the Covid-19 pandemic caused across the global gym industry, the company said.<\/p>\n The company had stabilised and strengthened its operations, established a clear strategy, delivered strong financial performance and built an effective leadership team, it said.<\/p>\n \u201cWith this three-year period now complete, Phillip will support Jason through the transition and continue to serve as founder\/director, with operational leadership and decision-making passing to the incoming CEO.\u201d<\/p>\n Paris brought \u201cdeep commercial expertise, a modern leadership style, and a clear passion for building high-performing teams and strong cultures\u201d, Phillip Mills said.<\/p>\n \u201cJason is an exceptional leader \u2013 truly as good as you get \u2013 and we\u2019re delighted he\u2019s decided to join us \u2026 with the company on a strong footing and well-positioned for further expansion, now is the right time for me to hand over leadership to an energetic new CEO who can take us into our next exciting chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n Paris, who is in his early 50s, is also a passionate Warriors fan and a director of Ng\u0101i Tahu Holdings.<\/p>\n He was head of digital media at TVNZ before becoming chief executive of TV3 and Four at the time the channels were still owned by MediaWorks.<\/p>\n Between 2011 and 2018 he held senior roles at Telecom, which was renamed Spark part-way through his stint.<\/p>\n In 2018 he joined Vodafone NZ as chief executive. The telco, now 100% owned by NZX-listed Infratil, became One NZ in 2022.<\/p>\n Signature moves under Paris\u2019 leadership included being the first to introduce satellite-to-mobile to the NZ market via a partnership with Elon Musk\u2019s Starlink and strongly pushing AI.<\/p>\n One NZ announced last month that chief financial officer Nick Judd would be its next chief executive<\/a>.<\/p>\n The company yesterday said Judd would take the reins as its new CEO on August 31.<\/p>\nPhillip Mills will take on the founder\/director role when Jason Paris takes over as chief executive at Les Mills International in October. <\/p>\n
Jason Paris is known for his passionate support of the New Zealand Warriors. <\/p>\n