Sarah Robb O'Hagan

Sarah Robb O'Hagan
Alma materUniversity of Auckland (BCom)
OccupationsBusiness executive, author
Notable workExtreme You (2017)

Sarah Robb O'Hagan is a New Zealand-born business executive and author known for leadership roles in the sports and fitness industries.[1]

Early life and education

Robb O'Hagan was born in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand to a professional rugby player father and a language teacher mother.[1] She received a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Auckland in 1993.[2]

Career

Robb O'Hagan began her career in various marketing roles at Air New Zealand (1993–1998), then joined Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Entertainment as a director of marketing (1998–2000) and Atari as a vice president of marketing (2000–2002).[2] She was fired twice, first at Virgin and then at Atari, during a period that she described as "epic failure."[1] Robb O'Hagan remarked publicly that she "fully deserved" to be fired from both companies for being "so arrogant [and] so cocky," but later described that her experience laid the groundwork for later success.[3] After Atari, she joined Nike as a director of marketing and then general manager (2002–2008).[1]

In 2008, Robb O'Hagan joined PepsiCo as chief marketing officer of Gatorade and was subsequently promoted to president of Gatorade in 2010.[1] She joined during a period of declining sales and is credited with transforming the business by positioning Gatorade as performance enhancement for high-level athletes rather than a mass-market sports drink.[4] That strategy included expanding the product line with gels and protein drinks and shifting marketing spend from traditional TV advertising, which made up 90% of Gatorade's marketing budget, and focusing on sponsorships of pro sports players.[4] Asked about the shift, Robb O'Hagan said "why on earth would you spend money on Super Bowl ads when players are drinking our products during the entire game?"[4][1] Gatorade's 2009 "What is G?" campaign, part of a new marketing strategy that simplified the Gatorade label to "G," featured athletes like Michael Jordan, Billie Jean King, and Muhammad Ali.[5] It was critiqued by media as a misfire amid a 17.5% sales slump and led to PepsiCo CEO Indra Nooyi conceding that she doesn't expect strong growth from the product in the U.S. ever again.[6] However, by 2011, sales exceeded $3 billion, a 9% increase from a year earlier. The brand's repositioning earned Robb O'Hagan recognition as one of Fast Company's 2012 "Most Creative People in Business."[4]

In August 2012, she was appointed the first President of Equinox.[7] Robb O'Hagan narrowed Equinox's targeting towards people who are avid athletes and focused on building aspirationalism and exclusivity surrounding the brand.[1][8] She also oversaw the company's international expansion to London and Toronto in late 2012.[7][9]

Robb O'Hagan served as CEO of Flywheel Sports, a boutique studio cycling business, from 2017 to 2018.[10] She led a push to launch an in-home bike competitor to Peloton.[10] In September 2020, two years after Robb O'Hagan left the company, competitive pressure from Peloton and a pandemic-related slowdown of boutique fitness led to Flywheel filing for bankruptcy and permanently closing its remaining studios.[11]

Robb O'Hagan became the CEO of Exos, a company known for training elite athletes and providing corporate health and wellness offerings, in January 2020.[12] During 2024 interviews, Robb O'Hagan publicly advocated for changes in workplace structure, in particular supporting the shift to a four-day workweek and building structured periods of recovery into company cultures.[13][14] She cited a six-month internal experiment run with Adam Grant and other researchers at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School testing meeting-heavy Tuesdays and Thursdays, quiet work days on Mondays and Wednesdays, and "You Do You Fridays," where surveyed employees reported a 27% increase in spending their time effectively at work.[13][14]

Board service

Robb O'Hagan has served on the board of JetBlue Airways since 2018.[15] She served on the board of Strava between 2016–2022.[16]

Personal life

Robb O'Hagan lives in New York City with her husband, Liam, and three children.[2][1]

Books

Robb O'Hagan is the author of Extreme You: Step Up, Stand Out, Kick Ass, Repeat (HarperBusiness, 2017), a self-help book where she featured stories of successful "Extremers" like Condoleezza Rice and Bode Miller to argue that embracing failure is what unlocks true potential.[17][18]

Recognition

Fast Company: "Most Creative People in Business" (2012).[4] Forbes: "Most Powerful Women in Sports" (2009; 2015).[5][19]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Sarah Robb O'Hagan: Fitness Is Her Business". The Wall Street Journal. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "Run at Nike gave exec thirst for more". Chicago Tribune. 10 August 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  3. ^ "Flywheel CEO: What I learned about success after getting fired twice". CNBC. 7 June 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  4. ^ a b c d e "23. Sarah Robb O'Hagan". Fast Company. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  5. ^ a b "Forbes: Most Powerful Women in Sports (2009)". Forbes. 14 October 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  6. ^ "Pepsi Sweats Over Gatorade". The Wall Street Journal. 23 July 2009. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Equinox Appoints First President". PR Newswire. 7 August 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  8. ^ "Equinox President Sarah Robb O'Hagan On Branding". Business Insider. 23 August 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  9. ^ "Workspace Inspirations All Around, and a Gym Downstairs". The New York Times. 20 July 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  10. ^ a b "On Resilience: How Sarah Robb O'Hagan Went From Being Fired Twice To Flywheel Sports CEO". Forbes. 7 February 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  11. ^ "Flywheel, Peloton rival, files for bankruptcy and will permanently close all studios". CNN Business. 15 September 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  12. ^ "Exclusive: Former Equinox president Sarah Robb O'Hagan is the new CEO of Exos". Fast Company. 4 February 2020. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  13. ^ a b "Exos CEO Sarah Robb O'Hagan believes a four-day workweek will soon be the norm". Fast Company. 31 May 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  14. ^ a b "Exos' 4-day workweek: How it went one year later". CNBC. 5 April 2024. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  15. ^ "JetBlue Announces Board of Director Appointments". JetBlue Investor Relations. 15 August 2018. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  16. ^ "Strava adds board members, brain staff". Bicycle Retailer and Industry News. 19 April 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  17. ^ "Sarah Robb O'Hagan on finding your "Extreme You"". CBS News. 5 April 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  18. ^ "Extreme You (HarperCollins)". HarperCollins. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
  19. ^ "The Most Powerful Women In Sports 2015". Forbes. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2025.
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