Adam was the first franchisee to open an Orangetheory franchise studio in Manhattan. As Chief Executive Officer of Empire Portfolio Group, Adam oversees 60+ locations in DC, CT, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NY, SC, VA & VT.

Prior to Orangetheory Fitness, Krell also founded Krebol Management Company, a hedge fund based in New York City. His entrepreneurial spirit had roots in his previous experience as an early investor in Financier Patisserie, a pastry and coffee roasting franchise, and Harry’s Italian, a multi-unit Italian restaurant featuring family style Italian cuisine.

Krell holds a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master’s in Business Administration from New York University Stern School of Business.

Jessica is the Chief People Officer for Empire Portfolio Group. Since joining the Orangetheory Fitness team in 2013, her roll-up-the-sleeve attitude has allowed her to play almost every role – from front desk, to regional fitness trainer to owner. Now overseeing the HR and payroll departments, she focuses on improving the experience of all staff members.

Working in various, fast-paced, and exciting environments is something Jessica learned from her prior career as a breaking news reporter. Jessica covered events such as the war in Afghanistan, the 2011 tsunami in Japan and the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. She started her media career as an NBC page at 30 Rockefeller Center.

Jessica holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Georgetown University. She loves working out and will challenge anyone who’s up for it to a pull-up contest.

Sam joined the Empire Portfolio Group / Orangetheory Fitness as CFO to oversee the financial operations and scale the infrastructure of the organization. He’s excited to rejoin the fitness industry with like-minded entrepreneurs after having spent time at Equinox where he led the accounting operations through acquisitions and international expansion.

Prior to joining Empire, Sam spent nearly a decade with Luxury Brand Partners – creators and incubators of iconic beauty brands such as R+Co, IGK, OneSize and Oribe – where he left as the CFO of their prestige hair group having oversaw the development + growth + successful exits of several brands; and other finance and accounting leadership roles at RSM and Equinox where he developed his expertise in GAAP, strategic planning, treasury and investor relations, and what he believes are the most valuable tenets: team building and talent development.

Sam is a CPA and CGMA, and obtained his BS in Accounting with a concentration in Finance from the University at Buffalo. He was featured in NACVA’s 40 Under Forty and has been quoted in several finance articles.

Stephanie is thrilled to have joined Empire Portfolio Group/ Orangetheory Fitness as Chief Development Officer. She spent the last two years as Head of Urban Development and New Concepts for Taco Bell.

Before that, Stephanie spent many years at Starbucks. Starting in their core business as Director of Development (RE, Construction, and Facilities) for 1100 stores covering Maine through West Virginia, transitioning to run strategy and growth for multiple Emerging or acquired Brands (Teavana, La Boulange, Princi, Roasteries, Reserve) as well as spending a year in London running Company-owned and Geo-Licensing in EMEA.

Stephanie started her career as a field operator and then corporate operations in the clothing and beauty industry.

Cris began working with Orangetheory Fitness and what is now Empire Portfolio Group in 2016, operating a single studio in New Jersey. He has since scaled successful practices and standard operating procedures to support over 60+ locations currently throughout DC, CT, ME, NC, NH, NJ, NY, SC, VA & VT. Alongside Adam Krell and Empire’s Regional Management team, he has helped establish many of the highest producing and performing Orangetheory locations globally.

Outside of Orangetheory, Cris has spent 15 years in the fitness industry with an executive-level sales and operations background ranging from corporate to franchise models, including both full-service and boutique companies.

“Success is when reality catches up to your imagination.” -Simon Sinek

Mitch became an Orangetheory Fitness franchisee in June 2016 and over the following 3 years opened 3 Orangetheory Fitness studios in Connecticut. Mitch is a partner in Empire Portfolio Group and joined the team full-time in March 2021 as the VP of Business Operations. Prior to becoming an Orangetheory Fitness franchisee, Mitch had an 11-year career in the oil and gas industry as an engineer and manager with Newfield Exploration and Encana/Ovintiv.

Mitch graduated summa cum laude from the University of Colorado – Boulder with a degree in chemical engineering with minors in economics and biochemistry. Mitch serves on the board of directors for IPODERAC’s Children Fund (www.ipoderac.org) and is a frequent volunteer at Easter Seals’ Camp Oakes in Big Bear, CA.

Alan joined the Empire Portfolio Group team in 2022 to build and oversee marketing and demand generation team supporting all Empire brands.  His expertise is in driving growth at multi-unit location brands through a combination of brand marketing and digital innovation strategy.

Prior to joining Empire, Alan held leadership roles at OVME Med Spa, Church’s Chicken, Moe’s Southwest Grill (FOCUS Brands), InterContinental Hotels Group and Arby’s Restaurant Group.

Alan has been recognized as a Brand Innovators 40 under 40 honoree and serves on both the Clemson University – Marketing Department advisory board (Chair) and University of Georgia – Digital Marketing department advisory board. Alan earned his BS in Marketing from Clemson University and his MA in Advertising from The University of Texas at Austin.  

Currently, the Vice President of People supports the employees’ experience and engagement.

She has prior experience leading human resources initiatives in high-growth technology and healthcare companies, including Vodafone, Lyft, and Evolent Health. Tiffany was named a Talent Warrior for being one of the Top 10 innovators of HR in the US by Glassdoor.

She received her bachelor’s degree and has certifications as a Professional in Human Resources and Strategic Human Resource Leadership. As part of the HR community, Tiffany has spoken at multiple international conferences and enjoys sharing ideas and advancing people analytics.

Trevor joined the Empire team in 2021 and is responsible for M&A and various stragetic initiatives. Prior to Empire, Trevor served as an Associate at Revelstoke Capital.

Previous to working at Revelstoke, Trevor was an Analyst at Citigroup on their Healthcare Investment Banking Team.

Trevor holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and a B.S. in Finance from the Honors Program at Lehigh University.

Joe is a Partner and Strategic Advisor at Empire Portfolio Group, where he focuses on scaling and optimizing our talent and operations functions. Joe originally joined the Orangetheory Fitness system as a multi-unit franchisee in Connecticut, prior to co-founding Empire Portfolio Group.

Joe is also a co-founder at Flatiron Search Partners, a boutique retained executive search and growth advisory firm. In this capacity, he has extensive experience working with founders, boards of directors, executive teams, and private equity/venture capital sponsors looking to access top-talent. Prior to Flatiron Search, Joe ran operations and talent for SoulCycle, and was a founder at Catalant ($100M+ funding from General Catalyst and Highland Capital Partners), which empowers global enterprises to access on-demand skills and expertise across internal and external talent pools.

Joe has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a background in investment banking, strategy and business development.