Naomi Ellis, General Manager - Nottingham Fitness & Wellbeing Centre

After graduating in 2002 I had started the lengthy application process for HSBC graduate bank management scheme. Having bought my first house and moved to Telford, I not only needed a job to give some spending money over the summer, I also needed a gym.  First stop was Cannons, (now Nuffield Health Fitness & Wellbeing Centres) with a view to joining as a member. Whilst there I thought it was worth asking if there were any jobs on the reception desk or in the bar. A week later on 22 July 2002 I had started work as Bar Supervisor of the Telford club.

I had been managing a restaurant during my time at University, but my first day was daunting, there was so much to learn. I'm glad to say the induction process was very thorough. Within a month I was making homemade cakes and received a lot of positive feedback from the members.

In September 2002 I was finally invited to an assessment day by HSBC in Cardiff. Whilst waiting to hear if I had been successful, I was also invited to an assessment day for an Assistant General Manager role with Cannons. During the day I received a call from HSBC offering a start on their graduate scheme. This was good news but I continued with the assessment day with Cannons anyway. During my interview I was asked where I saw myself in three years. My answer was 'General Manager'.

The next day I was offered the position of Health and Safety Manager with Cannons. What a decision to take! I had never intended to work in the leisure industry. However, I really enjoyed working with the team, there was a clear development programme and I had already seen progression within the first three months. You can guess, I decided to stay with Cannons.

A year later I moved back to my home town of Leicester, Cannons helped me by moving my role too to the Leicester club. I spent the next 18 months working at Leicester in a variety of roles, Member Service and Sales Manager and finally as the Deputy of the club. Although a very steep learning curve, I gained some fantastic experience, particularly the responsibility of managing the club during periods of the General Manager's absence. The support from the Regional Director, and field teams was fantastic.

I attended the "Grow Our Own" assessment day which was the fast track management scheme for Assistant Managers aspiring to be General Managers. The scoring of this gave a clear development programme and goals to work towards. In October 2005 I was offered by first role as a General Manager in the Aylesbury club.

There has been a clear support structure for me, I was assigned a mentor (a more experienced GM) and after three months I was assigned my first full GM position at Nuneaton - just 30 minutes from where I lived. Although a very challenging role in a club with nearly 4000 members I thrived on the challenge. This led to being awarded General Manager of the Year for the region for 2006.

In February 2008 St Albans (the 2nd biggest club in the Nuffield Health Fitness & Wellbeing Centres estate, then with 6000 adults and 2500 junior members) was suffering some difficulties and I was asked if I would like to apply. This was a major challenge, but with huge support I made significant progress to the extent that after five months I was given the opportunity to open the flagship centre in Nottingham. This was to be the first integrated centre with medical facilities and proof of concept for the new vision of health and wellbeing centres.

Nottingham has been open successfully for a year now and I still enjoy the challenge. I have worked for Nuffield Health Fitness and Wellbeing for seven and a half years now, have worked in a number of different centres across the UK and received the reward and recognition for success.

I can't imagine leaving Nuffield and with the wide variety of opportunities available I would never see the need to. In another couple of years I would hope to be working within the hospitals such are the opportunities available within the Company. There is a lot to learn before then, but with the guidance, training, development and support I have received from the team at Nuffield Health Fitness and Wellbeing, it appears anything is possible!

To achieve this, I have recently been accepted onto the first Senior Leadership Development programme at Ashridge Business School. To be selected as one of Nuffield's senior leaders is an honour. The course is a fantastic opportunity to reflect on my own leadership skills and is a big investment from the company in my personal development. Working with other divisions also gives further insight into different areas of the business and the vast career opportunities available within Nuffield Health.