exhale spas Breathe Life Into Meetings with Julia Sutton, COO, at the Helm

Exhale. May sound quite simple, but the act of doing just that, will help with relaxation. exhale spas encourage people to breathe. They help carry them away from their stresses. Its facilities offer modern, tranquil settings with natural materials, earthy tones, and temple-like yoga studios, light-filled Core Fusion studios, and Zen-inspired therapy rooms. exhale's signature 200-year-old doors from Indonesia, translucent acrylic panels containing beach grass, and other artifacts from southeast Asia sprinkled throughout, create a unique setting. A tea bar provides an ideal place to relax and socialize before or after a class or treatment. 

Directing the company’s operations is Chief Operating Officer Julia Sutton, a graduate of Manhattan College and the Harvard Business School’s executive program called OPM (Owners, Presidents, Managers), who oversees the company’s training academy, builds and manages the unit level leadership teams, and directs the associate development and retention programs. 

Sutton’s success can be attributed to the fact that she embodies the brand. An attractive, vivacious, 43-year-old, Sutton spends her lunch breaks taking a core fusion or yoga class. She also runs, having finished the New York City Marathon in three hours and twenty minutes just days before her wedding. She and her husband, Ted, have three children, 12-year-old Samantha who is in seventh grade, 10-year-old Hannah who is in fifth grade, and eight-year-old Bridget who is in third grade. 

Balancing her family responsibilities, her career, and grueling travel schedule is no easy task. “I’ve learned that in order to be a successful leader, you must develop strong people under you that you can rely on. This not only includes those I work with but my babysitters as well.” 

Her grandmother and namesake, Julia Griffin Earls, has had the biggest influence on her life. “She displayed great courage coming here from Ireland at a young age. A born healer, she worked at Lord & Taylor as an esthetician. She loved to help others with their outer beauty so that they could shine from the inside out.”

A self-proclaimed jock, Sutton has been involved in the fitness/spa industry her entire career, having directed ten spas across the country as national spa operations manager for Wellbridge, one of the largest health club chains in the nation, before creating exhale. “I started as a personal trainer and worked the front desk of a health club in college. I had to open every day at 5 a.m.,” she reminiscences. 

There are over 1,000 employees throughout the company’s 18 locations. How does Sutton create a team mentality? “By living it. Most of my unit managers will tell you that they see me vacuuming or steam cleaning the carpets myself.” 

Her key to a successful meeting is to start off with recognition.

“Gratitude goes a long way. This creates a great energy for the remainder of the meeting,” she declares. 

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