FLASH SALE: for the next 24 hours, you can book your seat to join us in LA on Thursday May 7 completely free of charge. Simply visit our LA Website and use the code LA100 at the checkout.
We are delighted to be partnering with Fit City Adventures for our Wellbeing at Work Summit US 2026 and are thrilled that their CEO, Angela Minardi will be speaking at our Los Angeles Summit tomorrow.
A wellness and adventure junkie, Angela founded Fit City Adventures after global travels and work with top health brands. She’s passionate about delivering white-glove wellness through team events.
A corporate wellness expert, Angela champions healthy events and hospitality. She’s spoken at MPI, ILEA, NACE and IMEX and won a Smart Source Speaker Award.
Angela will be explaining how Wellness is the New ROI and will be presenting A Playbook for People Leaders to Elevate and Boost Morale.
We caught up with her to see how she’s feeling in the runup to the event.
Hi Angela we are thrilled that you are joining us at the Wellbeing at Work Summit US this week. Our first and most important question is, how are you doing today?
I am living the dream and the entrepreneur life! It’s a rollercoaster☺ I’m excited about the future where human connection will be so much more important, given where we are going with AI – I get to sell “fun” to companies and bring wellness to the masses in a big way.
As a leader based in the region, what are the main challenges you are facing when it comes to employee wellbeing and mental health?
People are asked to do more, and learn faster than ever, to compete with AI and stay relevant. The speed at which we are operating requires downtime so that our brains and bodies can reset, and our nervous systems regulate. It’s so critical now more than ever to build in mindful moments and programs for employees onsite and especially virtually, to connect to each other and to themselves, every single day. Leaders must make wellness a priority, not a perk. The US Wellness Industry is a $500B industry and growing at 10% every year, and wellness is personal. According to a McKinsey study, 82% of people make wellness a priority in their daily lives, so their employers need to get onboard in order to recruit, engage and retain top talent. Wellness is the new ROI.
What strategies have you seen developing over the past 6 months, both internally and externally, that are moving the dial on wellbeing in the workplace?
We have focused on working with our clients to roll out the Top 5 wellness at work trends, including 1. mindful moments, 2. healthy hour is the new happy hour, 3. white-glove wellness, 4. something for every “body”, and 5. sweatworking is the new networking. Because wellness is so personal for everyone, we need to meet people where they are at, which looks like offering a variety of programs – there is no one-size-fits-all approach. As a national lifestyle concierge team building company, we offer “Choose Your Adventure” packages to get teams out of the “BORED” room to see the city in a fun, fit way, and when that’s not possible, weaving in 2-5 minute wellness lounge options at offices or at offsites, to give everyone space to decompress and connect. Putting budgets towards impactful programs, team builders and community service giveback events in new and creative ways is a win-win for the company morale, profit and employee wellbeing overall.
Why is employee wellbeing so important to you personally?
I started Fit City Adventures after 20 years in corporate America, working for large companies like CVS Health, Google, Accenture and Kaiser Permanente. While at CVS, I formed a colleague resource group called the Fit Club where we brought together 3000 headquarter employees to start a walk/run club, which turned into fitness classes onsite and then a full farmers’ market. Without a gym onsite, we offered a variety of options and partnered with the foundation to fund local charities through our efforts. That’s where my love for corporate wellness and team building began. I moved to San Diego to live the active lifestyle and saw the need to “see the city in a fun, fit way”. Now we offer events in 50 cities to keep teams connected, happy and healthy at team onsites, offsites and large conference events. I live the brand and hope to make the corporate world a happier, healthier place.
What impact is AI having in your organization and how are you managing that?
I see AI as a super boost and helpful in all things marketing and brand awareness. What used to take 5 people and 6 months, now takes two hours. We use it in our backend systems to automate event planning and learn more about our customers needs and wants, to make the interactions personal and tailored to their needs. We also use health tech in our services with many tools like infrared mats, Virtual Reality mediations and more. AI is changing so fast, but the need for genuine human connection will always remain.
Other than AI, are there any challenges that you are seeing for the first time and how are you addressing them?
Yes, the economy is impacting everyone – from compressed agendas, tighter budgets, lack of spend for travel (tariffs, oil prices etc). These things impact all of us, but the companies that understand the need for well employees and a plan to bring people together, to play, to break down barriers, will be the ones that succeed, with the support of AI to drive their business forward faster.
What areas do you think employers should be focused on over the next 12 months?
Balance trainings and AI rollouts with employee interaction points, wellness offerings and team builders, to boost morale and the bottom line. Now 1 in 4 people do not drink and 54% of people are drinking less. People are looking for alternatives and experiences for their rewards – it’s not all about money. Humans are motivated by 11 different factors – some financial but many through rewards, gamification, recognition and support. There are many cost-effective ways that companies can support their employees to help them grow.
Do you feel that investment in employee wellbeing in the region is increasing or decreasing and is that a direct reflection on HR leaders’ increasing ability to demonstrate effective returns of their strategies to leadership?
It’s critical to build internal structures with a “for employees, by employees” approach. CRG and ERGs are needed now more than ever, so that there is buy-in from the workers vs. just a top-down approach. By offering that structure, employers can take surveys, focus groups, and really listen to their teams, and build impactful programs that leads to ROI with employee recruitment, engagement and retention, which can all be tracked both qualitative and quantitatively. HR teams are doing so much these days, it’s important to work with experts and consultants in the space who can help off-load the work and bring in the expertise needed to support them, beyond a “let’s do a steps or water challenge because that’s what we’ve done each year.” Times are changing, Gen Z/A want and demand more options from their employers and HR teams need to be armed with data and education to share results with Sr. Leaders. Once it’s sold to them once and sold well, the programs continue to grow.
How has your organization been leading the way?
We work across sectors, industries and 50 cities to provide customize 100+ wellness and healthy team building programs for companies. As corporate lifestyle concierge consultants, we are constantly bringing in new health & wellness trends and stay ahead of the curve on what works and have all of the resources in-house as a one-stop-shop for our HR and leadership teams. As experts in this space since 2019, we save them time and money with a focus on fresh concepts and ROI. We allow teams choices, variety and handle all of the event planning details as a full-service firm. I love working with newly-funded start-ups and growing companies that hit the best places to work list, because they care about their employees and want to work together to build something great.
Angela is speaking in Los Angeles as part of our Wellbeing at Work Summit US 2026 which takes place in Chicago and Los Angeles this week. Click the links below to find out more and book your tickets:
FLASH SALE: for the next 24 hours, you can book your seat to join us in LA on Thursday May 7 completely free of charge. Simply visit our LA Website and use the code LA100 at the checkout.
