Edgard Corona, Smartfit CEO, is a leading entrepreneur in the Brazilian fitness sector. He’s also the Bio Ritmo & Smartfit group leader, which with 480 gyms, earned a revenue of about R$1 billion in 2017.
Edgard Corona founded the Bio Ritmo group in 1996 in Santo Amaro with a single outlet and without any experience or expertise in the fitness sector. Citing the founding of the Smartfit within the Bio-Ritmo chain, Corona asserts that they killed their business to start another one. Since the founding of the group, he’s served as the CEO and main shareholder.
With a significant presence in Mexico, Columbia, Peru, Chile, and the Dominican Republic, the group has dominated the fitness market in Latin America with 1.6 million learners. According to Edgard Corona, Smart transformed how people exercise in Brazil, pressuring the entire market to transform. Technology is the best model for changing the Brazilian economy. As the ambassador, Corona has experienced tremendous growth in the fitness industry, becoming the head of the fourth-largest fitness brand globally.
Corona, 61, attended Santo Américo school in São Paulo and then joined FAAP to study Chemical Engineering. While at FAAP, he opened a materials analysis laboratory and then partnered with his friends to open a factory. After graduating, he ran his family’s sugar factory and then left to join the academy. Today, the academy has 6000 employees serving in 490 units.
To ensure his company’s success, Corona created a culture of collaboration and developed a business model to ensure the business doesn’t have to rely on him to run. As a result, the company became consistent in offering its services, enabling Corona to position himself among the celebrated entrepreneurs in the country, particularly for his role as the group commander. After analyzing the fitness market, Corona claims his brand will expand to about 1200-1300 centers in Latin America in the next 4-5 years.
