Lift Brands, the parent company of a portfolio of fitness companies, has appointed Weldon Spangler as its chief executive.

Spangler, a franchised business veteran, will be tasked with further growing Lift Brands, which owns five fitness franchises and services – including Snap Fitness, YogaFit Studios and Fitness on Demand.

Spangler most recently served as president and CEO of Papa Murphy's, a Nasdaq-listed franchise company with 1,400 locations and system sales of $800m.

Previously, he spent seven years in senior leadership roles with Dunkin' Brands Group and had a stint as vice president of Starbucks Japan – where he grew the brand to 600 stores, making it Starbucks' largest international market at that time.

"Whether you're working in quick-service restaurant franchising or in fitness franchising, building strong alignment between the franchisor and local owners and their teams is the key to generating long-term success and value creation," Spangler said.

"I'm excited to build relationships with the 1,300+ franchisees and business partners at Lift Brands and chart a course for accelerated growth globally."