Rekha Rao

Rekha is the senior manager of internal and external communications at Life Fitness / Hammer Strength. The fitness leader is featured on Built In Chicago's "Best Large Places to Work" list and recently underwent a rebrand, unifying Life Fitness and Hammer Strength as part of a single, unified company with a new look and direction that's fit for a new era. Rekha joined Life Fitness, the global leader in commercial fitness equipment, in 2018. In her role at Life Fitness, she is a collaborator, a tactician, a problem-solver, a storyteller, a champion of the employee voice and a resource for executive communications. She believes that employees should have access to the information they need to understand the business and be successful in their roles. Rekha lives and works by a motto she remembers from an old ad campaign, “Never let ‘em see you sweat." Before returning to the communications field, Rekha took a nine-year detour as a high school English teacher, where she learned as many life lessons as she taught. She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Drake University and a master’s degree in teaching from National Louis University.