Women In Leadership Conference 2017

Sarah Robb O'Hagan

CEO

Flywheel

Former President of Equinox and Former Global President of Gatorade

Author of Extreme You: Step Up, Stand Out, Kick Ass, Repeat

Described by the media as everything from “Superwoman undercover” to “The Pied Piper of potential,” Sarah Robb O’Hagan is an executive, activist, entrepreneur, and currently the CEO of fast-growing indoor cycling company Flywheel Sports. She formerly served as the president of luxury health club Equinox, the global president of Gatorade, a GM and marketing director at Nike, and the marketing director of the Virgin Entertainment Group. The founder of the “Extreme Living” movement, she is a rare blend of fierce businesswoman, cheer leading Mom, passionate women’s advocate, and high-energy motivator. In her new book Extreme You, Sarah lays out a roadmap for becoming the most “extreme” version of yourself by operating at the edge of your potential and by building highly-collaborative, focused, and successful teams and corporations. Drawing on her decades experience at some of the world’s most influential brands, she shares practical takeaways including how to make failure your fuel, discover your most competitive playing field, get out of line rather than always following conventional wisdom, and bring out the “extreme” in others.

Sarah personally oversaw the development of several breakthrough innovation efforts throughout her career, including: the Virgin Atlantic Airways-Austin Powers movie collaboration in which the airline was rebranded “Virgin Shaglantic,” the roll-out of the game-changing Nike Plus technology developed alongside Apple, the transformation of Gatorade from a declining sports drink into an innovative sports performance company exemplified by the highly-successful G Series line, and Equinox’s revolutionary shift from a bricks-and-mortar gym to an always-on, digital-first fitness business. She also experienced what she calls a “canyon of career despair” in her 20s, using major back-to-back failures to learn, to grow and to motivate herself forward to eventually lead a $5 billion global business by the age of 38. She shares first-hand accounts of these peaks and valleys—pairing stories of firings with a behind-the-scenes look at Gatorade’s transformational turnaround under her stewardship—to illustrate what it truly takes to be successful, why you learn more when play for all or nothing, the importance of humility, and why you must always “play your own game.”

Robb O’Hagan has been named twice to Forbes magazine’s list of the “Most Powerful Women in Sports,” named a “Woman to Watch” by Ad Age magazine, dubbed one of the “Most Creative People in Business” by Fast Company, and named to “40 Under 40” lists by Sports Business Journal, Crain’s Chicago Business, and Sports Goods Business.

Sarah is a passionate advocate for an active lifestyle and believes the lessons learned from sports and fitness can be applied to improve performance in the work place. She has served on Hillary Clinton’s US State Department Council to Empower Women and Girls through Sports, and is a trustee of the Women’s Sports Foundation. She is an active member of the World Class New Zealand Network, as she remains committed to helping the country’s development, international competitiveness and economic growth. In 2014, she was awarded the Sir Peter Blake Trust Award for outstanding leadership.