Strava Appoints Anita Patwardhan Butler as Chief Design Officer

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15 Feb, 2023, 14:00 GMT

Butler brings in-depth global product and design experience to the subscription platform

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 15, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Strava, the subscription platform at the center of connected fitness, today announced the hire of Anita Patwardhan Butler as its first Chief Design Officer. In this role, Butler will oversee all of Strava's design and innovation aspects including brand and marketing design, product design, research and content design, helping the brand inspire movement for active people in over 195 countries globally.

This image opens in the lightbox — Anita Butler, Chief Design Officer, Strava

"The opportunity to further build a meaningful product that inspires and enriches people's lives the way Strava has closely aligns with my personal purpose," said Butler. "I look forward to shaping an experience where everyone feels included and finds the group that motivates them to move more and live healthier."

With more than 15 years of experience, Butler most recently served as Vice President of Product Design at Twitter, leading design for the company's consumer experiences. Prior to Twitter, Anita was the Head of Design for Facebook Stories Experience, and held several senior design positions at Ancestry, Sephora, Walmart, and Hotwire.

"To foster Strava's global growth, it is imperative that we approach every facet of our product with disciplined focus. Anita's successful experience leading and scaling design teams at large global brands makes her an invaluable asset to Strava as we build Strava into the best-in-class experience for active people everywhere," said Horvath.

Butler will serve as part of Strava's executive team and report to Strava CEO and Co-Founder Michael Horvath.

Horvath recently announced he is leading the search for his successor as CEO together with members of Strava's board of directors. He is committed to Strava's long-term success as a board member and will remain Strava's CEO until a successor is named.

Horvath stated, "Until my successor is named, I remain more committed and confident than ever that Strava is the platform that will motivate the world to be more active. Looking for the next CEO who can help realize that vision is the priority and we will not rush to a decision, but will instead be diligent and ensure that the right leader is identified."

Strava continues to add strong talent to its executive and board leadership teams to accelerate the growth of its community and further amplify Strava's position as the center of connected fitness. Recent board appointments include Tara Comonte (TMRW Life Sciences), Diahann Billings-Burford (RISE), Gustav Gyllenhammar (Spotify), and Jerrell Jimmerson (Disney) respectively.

This announcement follows several investments by Strava to enhance value for active people around the world, including Strava's acquisition of FATMAP in January, a mobile app for discovering, planning, navigating and memorializing outdoor adventures. Last month, Strava announced 9 new sports types, including racquet sports, pilates and HIIT. Now supporting 50 different activity types, the community platform continues to grow subscriber benefits, such as ski area mapping, Recover Athletics pre-hab content, route recommendations, an online route builder, global and personal heatmaps, and segment leaderboards. These updates aim to deliver daily value to active people around the world.

For more information on Strava or to start a free subscription trial visit www.strava.com.

Press Contact
press@strava.com

About Strava

Strava is the leading subscription platform at the center of connected fitness, with more than 100 million active people in 195 countries. The platform offers a holistic view of your active lifestyle, no matter where you live, which sport you love and/or what device you use. Everyone belongs on Strava when they are pursuing an active life. Join the community, find motivation and discover new experiences with a Strava subscription.

Our favorite stats:

More than 8 billion activities shared on Strava
Active individuals in every country on Earth
40 million activities uploaded per week
Over 30 million Segments
Over 3,000 professional athletes on Strava
Almost 10 billion Kudos given last year
Over 10 million photos and videos shared per week
Over 2,000 partner organizations making their communities better with Strava Metro
400+ employees around the world, with seven offices across the globe: