Movement Gyms announced it has appointed Anne-Worley Moelter as new chief executive, effective since 2022. More than 25 years of climbing experience separates her since she and her husband founded the North American largest climbing gym chain in 2009.

The Englewood-based company has grown overnight, with five Northeast locations from The Cliffs Climbing + Fitness Gyms and four Summit locations in Texas added on. Movement now operates 30 gyms across the country; three more are under construction. “We just started with three gyms, so we’re ten times the size,” Moelter said, looking at the company’s rapid expansion.

As she will take on her new role, Moelter intends to keep the company at a very hands-on level, which was more the case of the early years of the company. As she reflected, “We were very hands-on founders,” and she repeated that the aspect of being a thoughtful leader is very essential to her. She is planning to visit all of the 30 locations to build working relationships with people and collect variegated feedback from the employees. “The goal is that I want to understand our team better, so I can make some informed decisions moving forward,” she explained.

Moelter sees a strategic focus on the company’s established locations as part of a hub-and-spoke expansion. “Once you have one or two gyms in an area, it’s best to continue spreading from there,” she said, noting the effectiveness of that kind of expansion.

Originally drawn to climbing at a young age, Moelter went into the technology field after college but found herself recognizing that she was working with people was truly what she was passionate about. She managed all roles at a local Boulder climbing gym, and this helped her cofound the American Bouldering Series-now merged with the U.S. Competitive Climbing Association.

As a team manager for the U.S. youth climbing team, Moelter learned first-hand information that she brought to bear in crafting her vision for Movement Gyms. “We realized climbing facilities should serve as platforms of fitness,” she said, thus leading to the development of their first gyms.

The mountain climber has more than 2,000 staff members and is expecting expansion. Moelter referred to the responsibility as quite considerable. she said. She talks about how the community within the climbing industry motivates her.