NEW YORK – Tim Miller, who has nearly 20 years experience as a hotel executive, is the new chief executive officer of Crunch Fitness, the club chain announced today.

Miller replaces Jeff Feinberg, who had been the interim CEO.

Miller was the executive vice president and chief branding officer for Morgans Hotel Group, where he oversaw all innovation management. He had previously served as a hotel manager, a general manager and a vice president of brand management and new property openings for Morgans, which he joined in 1989. In 2004, Miller left Morgans to become the founder and president of the Alden Hotels in Houston. He returned to Morgans in 2006.

“I’m thrilled to be working alongside the innovative and talented leaders of the fitness industry here at Crunch,” Miller says in a press release. “My career has been built on melding visionary entertainment/lifestyle concepts with solid business acumen. I intend to utilize those skills to take Crunch to the next level, taking full advantage of the strategic factors that set the company apart—its unique culture and position in the fitness marketplace.”

Miller will manage all aspects of Crunch Fitness with a focus on enhancing the membership experience and strengthening corporate strategy, according to the press release.

“Tim’s background building and managing a distinctive brand in the hospitality industry makes him the perfect fit, as he brings an understanding of the unique sensibility that sets Crunch apart from other health club chains,” says Brent Leffel, managing director of Angelo, Gordon & Co., the private-equity firm that owns Crunch.

In early 2006, Angelo Gordon and Marc Tascher bought the Crunch chain--which at the time included 21 clubs--and four other clubs from Bally Total Fitness for $45 million. When the acquisition was finalized in January 2006, Tascher was named Crunch’s chairman and CEO.

In July 2006, Tascher, a co-founder and former chairman and CEO of Town Sports International Inc., stepped down as Crunch CEO but he remains on the board of directors today. Feinberg, a managing director at Alvarez & Marsal, a professional services firm, was brought in as the interim CEO to oversee the separation from Bally, according to a Crunch spokesperson. 

Crunch Fitness, which generated $68 million in revenue in 2006, has 30 clubs in New York, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Atlanta.

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