Move Everybody – Team Profile: Ryan Ludwig, Senior Account Manager
Move Everybody – Team Profile: Ryan Ludwig, Senior Account Manager
For over three decades, Corporate Fitness Works has successfully inspired health and fitness for all, stimulating workplace cultures that promote activity and well-being. As we continue to Move Everybody in 2019, we celebrate the amazing Team Leaders behind our mission. By sharing their stories, their inspirations and lessons learned, we hope to enthuse others to pursue their goals and aspirations for optimal health and fitness. This month we are pleased to feature Ryan Ludwig, Senior Account Manager.
The Ah-Ha Moment
Ryan has always had a personal interest in exercise and kept a full extracurricular schedule throughout high school, participating in sports including football, basketball, baseball, golf and track. Once in college, Ryan’s career path didn’t come into focus until after his freshman year, when he made the decision to switch his major from Accounting to Corporate Exercise Management (which, at the time was a somewhat new field of studies). Ryan had done enough research to realize that the program and his interests and passions aligned perfectly. Not long after graduating college, Ryan accepted a position with CFW and although some things have changed (the length of his hair, his geographical location, his role) his motivation remains the same – his desire to help others reach their goals.
We asked Ryan to share a few things about his career journey and success with Corporate Fitness Works. This is what he had to say…
Tell us about a time in your studies or in your career that helped you prepare for the challenges you face in your role today?
While all the kinesiology classes helped me prepare for the technical aspects of my job, one of my favorite courses was in Management and Leadership. It dealt heavily on leadership from the inside-out and focused on mindset. These concepts have helped me with the management responsibilities of my current role and have also helped me assist individuals who are trying to reach their own personal health and wellness goals. Health and wellness are not just about the physical, but also equally, if not more, about the mental and emotional aspects.
What is your #1 motivator? What are you most passionate about in the work that you do?
Overall, I thrive on assisting others. This happens when helping people with their health and wellness goals, helping clients reach their specific objectives, and helping the team grow and develop. This comes in many forms, such as developing an exercise program for an individual or putting together a budget to help clients with financial forecasting.
Describe the key steps you took in the path to your career success/career growth that made the greatest impact?
Corporate Fitness Works has provided opportunities that have led me to Kansas City, Louisville, and now Jacksonville. I feel some of the key factors for me have been my openness to new experiences and my willingness to move to new locations while having an open mind to listen to constructive feedback and striving to grow by any means necessary.
How does your role as Senior Account Manager support Team Leader growth and our business growth?
First and foremost, client retention is extremely important. Not only to sustain business, but also to grow business by retaining clients that are willing to serve as references to potential new clients. In addition to client retention, by working with the entire team and preparing them for growth, we ensure we have Team Leaders who can step into new roles in the future.
How does your role most impact our clients (and the members we serve) success?
My current client site has a very robust program with numerous services that are not typical among most of our clients. My main goal is to listen and fully understand what is trying to be accomplished so we can provide the best possible solutions and service to our client.
Share a career highlight.
I have very fond memories of my involvement with the startup of numerous onsite fitness centers for our clients. One such site was the Sprint Campus Fitness Center, headquartered in Overland Park, KS, one of CFW’s original clients. I was able to learn a lot which I carried with me, allowing me to assist with another client who opened six fitness centers over the course of a few years. With every start up, I learned something new about facilities, design, equipment, policies and procedures.
If you could share one “value added tip” as Senior Account Manager for CFW, what would it be?
Be open to utilizing the fantastic and diverse skills and knowledge of your team. Often times my initial tendency is to try and figure everything out by myself but there will always be a Team Leader somewhere within CFW that has “been there and done that” who can provide excellent insight that can be applied and customized to fit your specific situation.
Please share an interesting fact about you that you would want our Team and our clients to know about you? This can be career related or personal.
While I am currently between choirs since moving to Jacksonville, I still have a passion for singing. I have been part of a singing chorus since high school, through college, and have continued through a variety of community choruses too.
The collage below demonstrates just a few of the many talents of Ryan Ludwig. Here is Ryan playing Frosty the Snowman at a recent family Christmas program, taking a horseback riding adventure on the beach, and finally enjoying some down time with his team at a golf gaming recreation facility.