“5 Things I Wish I Knew Before I Became CEO of Virgin Sport Global”, with Mary Wittenberg

I had the pleasure to interview Virgin Sport Global CEO Mary Wittenberg. In her past role, Mary essentially built the NYC Marathon into the largest one day sports event in the world during her tenure as President and CEO of New York Road Runners, and is now bringing her expertise to build and launch four Virgin Sport fitness festivals in 2017. Mary is an A-list, incredibly well respected female CEO who has shattered the glass ceiling in sports and business, and has built a reputation as one of the most responsible and driven CEOs in the industry, which is why Richard Branson hand picked her to oversee his latest, red-hot fitness venture.

What is your “backstory”?

Before leading Virgin Sport as our Global CEO (I prefer Chief Exercise Officer!), I served as the President and CEO of New York Road Runners (NYRR) and Race Director of the New York City Marathon. I feel proud and humbled to have been the first woman to lead NYRR, helping to develop the New York City Marathon into the world’s largest, and arguably best, marathon bringing 50,000 finishers together and raising over $25 million for charity each year. I loved working with my team to pioneer the World Marathon Majors and National Running Day while expanding NYRR’s commitment to the five boroughs of New York City…