Kathy A. Knudsen was drawn to health and fitness at an early age, first for her personal well-being, and later as a student-athlete when she found inspiration in helping others achieve good health.
“This led to my voyage into being an entrepreneur, as I realized the simple act of helping people reach and maintain a healthy lifestyle could be an effective way to make a difference,” she said. “Little did I know it would also become a successful business that continues to thrive and evolve in ways I could have never imagined.”
Today, as founder and president of Healthbreak Inc., Knudsen continues to pursue that passion. Running your own company, though, has its challenges. Take the past two years, for example, when Knudsen and other business leaders navigated a pandemic, relocated workforce, supply chain woes and societal anxiety at epidemic levels.
“My proudest accomplishment is not one thing, but the summation of the whole,” Knudsen said. “We had to rethink, reimagine, rebuild, replace, scale, and learn new things to meet the constant changes and challenges. We focused on our equation for success: Thriving Employees + Happy Clients = Healthy Company. We actively communicated with our employees and clients, listened to their needs, and proactively responded with supportive solutions.”
The company introduced new systems for employee support while working virtually, launched a virtual fitness channel, and created a new support program for small businesses, among other changes.
Knudsen’s vision for the next five years is to continue to make breakthroughs in wellness for more groups and individuals. She wants to continue to raise the bar on improving the health of business communities and thereby inf luencing the health of communities, she said.
Knudsen is one of 12 leaders to be recognized as a titan Hall of Famer.
“Since inception, it has been my intention and mission that running a business should exist to provide value to all constituents, including employees, their families, our communities and the businesses we serve,” Knudsen said. “This foundation has provided me as a leader and our employees with the opportunity to collaborate and agree on our foundational principles and values as we have evolved throughout the past three decades.”
