Humphrey Cobbold
Humphrey Cobbold | |
|---|---|
Humphrey Cobbold at PureGym | |
| Born | Humphrey Michael Cobbold 13 November 1964 Nairobi, Kenya |
| Alma mater | |
| Title | Chair, PureGym |
| Spouse |
Nicola Hacker (m. 1991) |
| Children | 3 |
| Relatives | Robert Runcie (uncle) |
Humphrey Michael Cobbold (born 13 November 1964)[1] is the chair[2] of PureGym, a UK gym operator. He joined the business in 2015 when there were 84 gyms, which are now approximately 700 in number.
Early life and education
Cobbold was born on 13 November 1964 in Nairobi, Kenya.[3][4] He attended Bromsgrove School,[5] an independent boarding and day school in the Worcestershire town of Bromsgrove. Cobbold was taught in secondary school by prominent UK politician Edwina Currie. He then attended the University of Cambridge and INSEAD, from which he obtained an MBA.[6]
Career
In September 2009, Humphrey Cobbold began his position as the CEO of Wiggle Ltd., a UK-based online retailer of cycling and triathlon-related products. He headed the company during the period when Bridgepoint was in the process of acquiring it. In late 2013, Cobbold departed from Wiggle, with Stefan Barden succeeding him in September of that year. Upon leaving Wiggle, Cobbold stated, “I have had the privilege to work with a truly fabulous group of colleagues and business partners over the last four years. The time is now right for someone else to lead the peloton and take Wiggle forward to future success.”[7] He has since been linked to a bid to buy the internet retailer sofa.com.[8]
He is a former chairman of Fish4, a British recruitment website,[9] as well as the Director of Strategic Development and executive committee member of Trinity Mirror.[10] Before joining Fish4 and Trinity Mirror, he was a partner[10] and the co-head of the UK media practice for the global management consulting firm McKinsey & Company.
Since 2013, Cobbold has been the CEO of PureGym, a network of over 400 gyms with more than 1.1 million members. In 2019 PureGym acquired Fitness World.[11][12]
Personal life
Cobbold is married to Nicola and has three children. His brother Tim is the former chief executive of UBM plc. Cobbold is the nephew of Robert Runcie, the former Archbishop of Canterbury.[13][3]
References
- ^ "Humphrey Michael Cobbold". Cobbold family tree. Retrieved 6 March 2015.
- ^ "Pure Gym Limited - Governance - Board of Directors". corporate.puregym.com. Retrieved 31 May 2025.
- ^ a b Evans, Peter (4 March 2018). "How PureGym's Humphrey Cobbold built up a fitness empire". The Sunday Times.
- ^ Lynch, Andrew (22 April 2012). "Leading edge: Humphrey Cobbold". The Sunday Times.
- ^ Beardmore, Michael (27 September 2019). "PureGym CEO: Bromsgrove gym overdue, says former town student". Bromsgrove Advertiser. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ Wood, Zoe (17 September 2010). "Wiggle puts enthusiast in the saddle in pursuit of the 'mamil'". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
- ^ Humphrey Cobbold leaves Wiggle CEO role; Jonathon Harker; Bike Biz; September 3, 2013
- ^ Marlow, Ben (11 October 2014). "Wiggling-towards-the-sofa.com". The Telegraph. Bristol. Retrieved 15 October 2014.
- ^ "Online Recruitment - fish4 appoints new Chief Executive Officer". Retrieved 27 October 2010.
- ^ a b "The unholy Trinity of slash, save and sell off". The Independent. London. Retrieved 27 October 2010.
- ^ Farrell, Stephen (3 December 2019). "PureGym to acquire European fitness company". Insider Media Ltd. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ "Humphrey Cobbold". SRI. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- ^ Hellier, David (15 April 2016). "Humphrey Cobbold: Boss of budget gym chain fitter for purpose after swapping suit for Lycra". Evening Standard.
- Fat Face owner buys Wiggle; Carlton Reid; Bike Biz; December 7, 2011