CrossFit brings back Bruce Edwards as CEO amid ownership review

CrossFit is turning back to Bruce Edwards as it navigates a CEO vacancy, a pending ownership change and a 2026 season that already has more than 100,000 athletes in the Open. Edwards will return as chief executive officer on May 4, replacing Don Faul, who stepped down on March 6 after nearly four years in the job.

The timing matters. CrossFit said in March 2025 that Berkshire Partners would seek a new owner for the company and that it was working with Moelis & Company to review potential buyers. That process now overlaps with an active competition calendar and a global affiliate base that still gives CrossFit its reach. In its 2025 update, the company said its network included more than 11,000 business owners, more than 100,000 credentialed coaches and 1,500-plus healthcare providers.

Edwards is not walking into a new system. He served as CrossFit’s chief operating officer from 2013 through 2019, years that covered a major growth run for the brand. Since leaving CrossFit, he has moved through other fitness-industry jobs, including a brief stint as chief growth officer at In-Shape Health Clubs, leadership roles at barre3 and his current post as CEO of Core Development & Management, the Planet Fitness franchise operator. That background gives him a mix of affiliate-scale operations and multi-location fitness experience that CrossFit may lean on quickly.

The first decisions under Edwards are likely to show up where CrossFit’s business and sport sides collide. Affiliates will want clarity on how the company supports gyms, credentials coaches and keeps the brand steady during an ownership review. Athletes will watch whether the company can keep the sport calendar clean and predictable while leadership changes. The 2026 CrossFit Athlete Council notes said Open registration was running ahead of last year’s pace and had already passed 100,000 athletes, a sign that the competitive pipeline is moving even as the top job changes hands.

For a brand built on consistency of standards, the bigger question is not whether Edwards knows the company. It is whether his return restores confidence fast enough to steady affiliates, keep the competition season on track and carry the company through a sale process that could reshape CrossFit’s next chapter.