It has only been a couple hours since it was announced that Don Faul has stepped down from his role as CEO of CrossFit. And while CrossFit’s Board of Directors is in the process of finding his replacement, let’s take a look at who might be a candidate to become the next CEO…
Daniel Chaffey
If you remember a year ago when Malek Chenia was in talks with Berkshire to acquire CrossFit, LLC, Daniel Chaffey’s name was often associated with the potential ownership group. Chaffey has been heavily engrained within CrossFit for years.
Chaffey is the owner of three CrossFit affiliates in France and a Level 2 trainer. He founded the French Throwdown, which is now one of the Semifinals of the CrossFit Games season. On top of that, he was CrossFit’s International Director for just over four years from December 2020 through June 2025.
Chaffey has also been endorsed by CrossFit founder, Greg Glassman. In an interview with Pedro from Coffee Pods and Wods, Glassman said that Chaffey was the right person to lead CrossFit. “His North Star is affiliates,” Glassman said when speaking of Chaffey.
Jay DeCoons
Another individual who has spent time focusing on the affiliates is Jay DeCoons. Hired in October 2023 as the Vice President, Global Affiliates & Operations, DeCoons quickly became respected within CrossFit’s organization and among affiliate owners.
And whether you believe the Diebner story and all the drama around that, Diebner said that he and Mastrov were impressed with DeCoons from working with him previously. Diebner told The Barbell Spin that DeCoons was a “rockstar” and that he would take on a larger role if they acquired the company.
Obviously that did not happen, but it does leave the possibility open that others see DeCoons as a future leader of CrossFit.
Bruce Edwards
Unless you were familiar with CrossFit’s executive suite back in the day, you likely have no idea who Bruce Edwards is. Edwards was CrossFit’s Chief Operating Officer (COO) from 2013 through 2019, the years where CrossFit exploded and saw exponential growth.
Since leaving CrossFit almost six years ago, Edwards was briefly the Chief Growth Officer of In-Shape Health Clubs, COO and President of barre3 and is currently the CEO of Core Development & Management, a leading franchisee in the Planet Fitness network.
Edwards has the experience with CrossFit, especially when it was growing. Whether that translates into where CrossFit is today, that is (maybe) yet to be seen.
Dave Castro
I know you’ve been waiting for this one. Castro was named interim CEO following the resignation of Greg Glassman in June 2020. He was later fired by then-CEO Eric Roza in January 2022 before rejoining the company just 18 months later. Since then Castro has gone back to his role as Director of Sport.
Castro, however, probably has the most institutional knowledge of CrossFit than anyone else currently employed. Putting Castro at the helm might be the most obvious choice, but also could be one of the most controversial (remember calls for him to step down as Director of Sport?).
Outside Hire?
Of course, Berkshire has indicated it has plans to work with a third-party executive search firm to identify candidates. This would imply that Berkshire is open to bringing someone on who does not have prior CrossFit HQ experience.
The question is, however, would the community embrace someone from the outside leading the organization? That’s always been a tough task for outside candidates coming in to work for CrossFit, let alone as CEO.
As of right now, well technically Friday, March 6, CrossFit, LLC, will not have a CEO. How does the company respond in the middle of the busiest time of the year with the Open underway, Quarterfinals, Semifinals and the CrossFit Games. Add on to that all of the affiliate needs and it leaves a big question mark around the future of CrossFit, LLC.
Stay tuned…
