Jacinta McDonell

Jacinta McDonell's Biography

Jacinta McDonell launched the highly successful US franchise Anytime Fitness into the Australian market in 2008, alongside her brother Justin. With over 500 clubs in Australia and over 3,500 clubs with three million members worldwide, Anytime Fitness has grown to be Australia’s number one health club chain.

Jacinta was recently inducted into The Fitness Industry Roll of Honour. This award gives national recognition to people who are described as 'game-changers' - those who have made an enduring contribution to make the fitness industry what it is today.

An inspiration to many Australian business women and a mother of three, Jacinta has exited Anytime Fitness and has turned her entrepreneurial passion towards two new ventures that aim to change the way businesses view ‘Giving’ and ‘Social Responsibility’.

A strong advocate of using ‘business for good’ - Jacinta established The Human Kind Project in 2015. A not-for-profit foundation that funds life changing projects in Africa and India, the Human Kind Project connects projects to businesses to build brand equity whilst creating lasting social change.

Jacinta has most recently opened W1LL, a new style of yoga studio, built around music and immersive design. The brand is built on the one-for-one giving model – with every purchase from the brand supporting a human in need.

From spending time on Necker Island with Richard Branson and the Virgin Unite team to time in small rural villages in Malawi with The Hunger Project – Jacinta continues to reinvent the way we view business, its purpose and the way we can view purpose in our own lives.

As previous owner of the number one fitness franchise in Australia and a passionate philanthropist Jacinta brings a wealth of experience to any conference or event. Jacinta believes that businesses can change the world and make a profit. From keynote speaker, to being on a panel or a casual Q&A session Jacinta will be sure to captivate her audience with her real life examples, from growing a national franchise to having an annual turnover of more than 300 million. Her model for giving is unfounded and creating transformation to the way that business do business for good.