Board of Directors
Scott DeRue
Throughout his career, Scott has been dedicated to creating life-changing experiences that help people discover and maximize their potential, whether it be through education, health and fitness, or sport. This deep sense of purpose inspires his leadership of The IRONMAN Group, which has grown to become a global sensation with hundreds of events inspiring millions of people to push the boundaries of human achievement and discover their true potential.
Prior to joining The IRONMAN Group, Scott served as President of Equinox, the global leader in luxury fitness and high-performance living with over 100 fitness clubs, a connected fitness platform, and digital commerce and media properties in North America and Europe. During his tenure, Scott led the company through significant rebuilding and growth with a focus on the consumer experience and innovation, which fueled record-level operating performance and engagement with its community of members and subscribers. Before his appointment as President, DeRue served as an independent director on the Equinox board.
Prior to joining Equinox, Scott served as the Dean of the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business, where he was recognized among the 50 most influential business school professors in the world. During his tenure as Dean, the Ross School of Business achieved some of its highest rankings in school history, raised record levels of capital for strategic initiatives, increased revenue, research productivity, and diversity to new heights, and launched digital education programs that reached over three million people globally.
Beyond his leadership in business and education, Scott is an accomplished endurance athlete and mountaineer, with summits of Everest, Denali, Aconcagua, Elbrus, and Vinson Massif in Antarctica. He has also explored the South Pole, led expeditions to the highest point in Africa, Mt. Kilimanjaro, and completed a 250km ultramarathon across the Gobi desert in Mongolia.
Scott is a member of the Young President’s Organization, a member of the Explorer’s Club, a trustee of the Conference Board, and previously served as chairman of the William Davidson Institute. In addition to his board service, Scott has consulted for Fortune 100 companies, startups, championship-winning sports teams, and government agencies.
He earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he currently serves on the Board of Advisors for the Kenan-Flagler Business School. He also received his PhD in management from Michigan State University, where he was awarded a University Distinguished Fellowship.
Shane Facteau
Shane came to WTC with comprehensive endurance event operations experience. He demonstrates the ability to transform and elevate the efficiency, profitability, and safety of events. Shane has significant skills for the development of budgets, contracts, risk management procedures and strategic planning.
Shane joined WTC, owner and organizer of IRONMAN, IRONMAN 70.3, 5i50, IronGirl and IronKids branded-events in 2008 as part of the acquisition of North America Sports, Inc.
Prior to joining WTC, Shane was the Director of Operations for North America Sports, Inc. (NA Sports). NA Sports had previously owned and licensed a majority of IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 events in the United States and Canada. Shane managed and supervised all national operational employees while developing operational functions essential for increasing productivity and efficiency. He closely evaluated operational procedures, as well as established standards and guidelines for events. Shane was highly involved in constructing event budgets to reach financial objectives
From 1999 through 2003, Shane was the Public Relations Director at North America Sports. He used a variety of media outlets to release event related information; while cultivating relationships with event communities, sponsors and athletes.
Shane earned a BA in English and Communications from State University of New York at Oswego.
Julie Moss
From her stunning crawl across the finish line at the 1982 IRONMAN World Championship — the most famous moment in triathlon’s 40-year history, viewed by millions on Wide World of Sports — to her third-place age-group finish in Kona at the 2018 IRONMAN, Julie has delighted and inspired millions throughout the world. Now, with the publication of her long-awaited memoir, Crawl of Fame (Pegasus Books), she inspires all over again.
Julie grew up in Carlsbad, Calif., surfing and being part of a number of high school sports teams. While at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, she chose to run the 1982 IRONMAN for her senior kinesiology project. A complete unknown, she stunned the field by leading most of the marathon leg, until her body gave out during the final quarter mile. While crawling the final 15 feet to the finish, she was passed by Kathleen McCartney — but Julie’s effort became an instant global symbol of giving everything you’ve got, and never quitting. Her effort, and its coverage on Wide World of Sports and other national and international media, instantly elevated she, triathlon, and endurance sports to global status — and launched the triathlon and endurance sports booms that continue today.
During the 1980s, Julie became the face of triathlon, as well as one of its finest performers, ranking as high as 4th in the world. She won several major international events, most prominently the 1985 Japan Ironman and 1989 Gold Coast IRONMAN. She also met and married Mark Allen, who would win a record-tying six IRONMAN World Championships. Their son, Mats, debuted at the IRONMAN World Championship in 2018, finishing a bit ahead of Julie before joining her at the finish line for a wonderful mother-son moment.
Julie remains one of the top age-group triathletes in the world. She celebrated her 60th birthday by finishing third in her age group at the 2018 IRONMAN World Championship.
Her experience in triathlon, and the transformation in her own life that unfurled in Kona in 1982, led Julie to begin presenting and speaking on inner empowerment, finding one’s pursuit and excelling at it, never quitting, and “putting in the work." These became the deeper themes of her memoir, Crawl of Fame. They also became the basis for numerous public speaking engagements to corporate summits, service and business organizations, athletic groups, various women’s and mentoring groups, and scholastic sports teams.
Johnny O'Brien
He worked for 18 years with Life Care Centers of America, the largest privately owned company in the industry. He started out as a C.P.A. and had the opportunity to hold the position of Asset Manager to the sole shareholder of the company for 6 years. Next, he served as Executive Vice President for two years and ultimately President for his final four years with the company. During this time, Life Care operated over 200 facilities with revenues in excess of one billion dollars and 26,000 employees.
In 1999, Johnny partnered with Byron Defoor to form Grace Healthcare, which grew to over 40 skilled nursing facilities. After 15 years serving as President, he retired from operations and divested his interest in Grace. In 2000, he was also one of the founding partners of Contemporary Healthcare Capital, LLC, a specialty finance company that has provided over one billion dollars in mezzanine loans and preferred equity investments in the senior housing industry. He serves as a managing partner of the firm and is also on the board of a related party bank in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
In 2013, Johnny launched High Point Climbing and Fitness, and developed the company’s first climbing gym in the heart of Chattanooga’s tourist district, which was named the “Coolest climbing gym in the country” by Climbing Magazine. They currently own and operate six gyms and are the largest regional operator in the Southeast.
Johnny has been an avid triathlete for over 20 years and has competed in over 100 IRONMAN branded events, including ten IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship events and one trip to Kona. He is a big supporter of the IRONMAN XC organization and participated in 22 events. He is actively involved in supporting IRONMAN events in his hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee and was the City’s Ambassador for hosting the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in 2017.
Nick Paskiewicz
He is also responsible for overseeing IRONMAN’s global portfolio of media license agreements, event license agreements, and host venue agreements. Before becoming a member of the Florida Bar, Nick worked as a financial analyst at Simon Property Group. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Finance at the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, his MBA from Stetson University School of Business Administration, and his JD from Stetson University College of Law.
Elizabeth Wood
Elizabeth brings a wealth of experience and a passion for sports to her role on the Board of Directors. With a distinguished career at Johnson & Johnson spanning nearly three decades, Elizabeth held key positions in both marketing & sales leadership. She successfully led major initiatives and products launches across multiple therapeutic areas, consistently earning awards & recognition for her contributions.
Beyond her professional achievements, Elizabeth is an accomplished triathlete, and training has become her full-time job since retiring from J&J. She has competed in over 15 IRONMAN events and numerous other races, frequently landing on the podium in triathlons and running events. Her commitment to both her career and athletic pursuits exemplifies her drive to excel and inspire. She uses her blog and fundraising platform to inspire others to take on challenges they might not otherwise have considered, especially when it comes to health/wellness/physical fitness.
Elizabeth has over 20 years’ experience fundraising for sports-related causes, including BikeMS and TEAM IMF. Her affiliation with the IRONMAN Foundation began in 2019, when she raced IRONMAN 70.3 Waco as a Team IMF fundraising athlete. She felt an instant connection with the IMF mission and has served as an IRONMAN Foundation Ambassador since 2020.
Elizabeth played a key role in the IMF’s “30 Women to Kona” initiative in 2023, which resulted in 19 women racing with the Foundation—the largest number of women to ever race in Kona with the IMF. She led the team as co-captain and created a unique program that delivered a highly-rated user experience for the athletes.
Elizabeth holds an MBA in International Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management and a BA in French Language & Culture from the University of Kansas.