Posted: August 25, 2004

Triathlon: Who Is The Fittest Ceo In The World?

KONA, HAWAII – If you have ever wondered who is the fittest CEO in the world, we may get a glimpse of the answer on October 16 at the Hawaii Ironman World Championship.

The CEO Ironman Challenge is a competition held within a full Ironman distance race (2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike, and 26.2-mile run) for CEO’s and Company President’s, with the winner earning the title of ‘fittest CEO’. In 2004 there were two CEO Challenge events held – one in the USA and one in Europe – with the winners meeting in Kona, Hawaii to see who really is the fittest of them all. Seven CEO’s from the CEO Challenge held in conjunction with Ironman USA Lake Placid will join four CEO’s who qualified at Ironman Austria.

The competition will be fierce, with the USA CEO Challenge winner, John Potter (CEO of a Periodontics company in Pennsylvania), pitted against the European CEO Challenge champion, Wolfgang Jirout (Partner and joint owner of Life Settlement Holding AG of Vienna, Austria).

Wolfgang Jirout has the better time coming into the competition, with a 9 hour 47 minute finish from Ironman Austria. However, it’s generally acknowledged that the Austrian course is significantly faster than the Lake Placid course, where John Potter finished in 10 hours and 30 minutes. The Hawaii event is contested over the lava fields of the Big Island, and can be brutally hot and windy, where we expect the CEO that is truly the fittest will prevail.

Following is a breakdown on each of the CEO Ironman Challenge competitors, including their companies, age, and finishing time from the qualifying event:

CEO Challenge – Ironman Austria, July 4, 2004

Wolfgang Jirout, Age 43
Partner and joint owner, Life Settlement Holding AG, Vienna, Austria
9:47

Stefan Fischer, Age 40
CFO, NewLab BioQuality AG; Germany
10:18

Gunter Liska, Age 43
General Manager, Xerox, Vienna, Austria
10:30

David Perry, Age 36
CEO/Founder, Anacor Pharmaceuticals, California
10:38

CEO Challenge – Ironman USA Lake Placid, July 25, 2004

John Potter, Age 38
President, Potter Periodontics, Allentown, PA
10:30

Mike Dannelley, Age 46
President and Managing Member, American Interbanc Mortgage, LLC, Costa Mesa, CA
10:39

Michael Fisch, Age 42
President, American Securities Capital Partners, New York, NY
10:45

John Schlagenhauf, Age 44
President and owner, Badger Truck Center, Inc; Brookfield, WI
10:47

David Mullaney, Age 38
CEO, Petro Steel International, Philadelphia, PA
10:58

John Macfarlane, Age 50
COO, Tudor Investment Corporation, Greenwich, CT
11:58

Carri Bennet, Female
CEO / Managing Principal, Bennet & Bennet, Washington, DC
16:03

Additional information on each of the competitors can be found at www.ceochallenges.com. For more information on the CEO Challenge please contact Ted Kennedy at Ted@ironmanusa.com, or 303-442-9097 x 23.