Marie AK Choi, Executive MBA, CFE, CPT
Marie AK Choi is a seasoned entrepreneur and franchise operations leader with more than two decades of business experience and a decade of expertise in franchising. Currently serving as Senior Director of Operations at WellBiz Brands, she supports multi-unit franchise owners across approximately 800 locations spanning leading beauty and wellness brands including Drybar, Amazing Lash Studio, Elements Massage, Radiant Waxing, and Fitness Together. In her role, she drives operational excellence by helping owners improve profitability, implement scalable systems, and strengthen performance across revenue, membership growth, recruiting, and training. Known for her strategic mindset and passion for the guest experience, Marie believes that exceptional, service-driven experiences are at the core of every successful business.
Marie’s career journey reflects both entrepreneurial grit and corporate leadership. She spent 10 years as a business owner, transforming a martial arts and fitness studio into a thriving operation with 500 members, offering programs ranging from fitness kickboxing to youth development and personal training. At the same time, she built her corporate foundation in sales and marketing with FOX Sports during the launch of FOX Sports One. After experiencing the personal loss of both parents to cancer, she made a pivotal shift to fully pursue her passion for health and wellness. Starting over as a personal trainer at UFC Gym, she quickly rose to become one of the organization’s top performers, generating $100,000 in personal training sales within 10 months and mentoring others to build successful careers. Her success led to a national role with Crunch Fitness, where she advanced into leadership positions and supported the growth of hundreds of franchise locations.
A servant leader at heart, Marie brings a unique perspective shaped by her experience as both a business owner and corporate executive. She is deeply committed to helping entrepreneurs succeed by emphasizing strong community partnerships, team development, and sustainable business practices. Beyond her professional achievements, she is a dedicated athlete and lifelong learner who enjoys mixed martial arts, exploring new cultures, and traveling. Her journey is defined by resilience, purpose, and a genuine desire to empower others to grow, succeed, and build meaningful, impactful businesses.
• CFE (Certified Franchise Executive)
• University of Chicago
Political Science and Gender Studies, Pre-Law Studies
• Strayer University
Master of Business Administration - MBA in Executive Management
• Double gold winner at Worlds jiu-jitsu tournament
• High school superlative for hardest working
• IFA (International Franchise Association)
What do you attribute your success to?
I'd say my faith is probably the most important thing. It's my faith, like, God, just believing in God and having, knowing that He has my back and gives me the strength and courage to just keep going. I always tell people, it doesn't matter what your religion or your spirituality is, it's just believe in something. I'd also have to say my parents. They instilled an incredible hard work ethic in me. In high school, we had superlatives like most popular and most athletic, and I still have our high school newspaper where it says hardest working, and I was chosen for that. My passion for mixed martial arts has also been huge. I earned a black belt in a Korean martial art called Hapkido, then I picked up Muay Thai kickboxing and trained in that for over a decade with 20 professional amateur fights. About 5 years ago, I committed 100% to jiu-jitsu, and I just earned my brown belt a couple months ago. Martial arts has given me that discipline, the confidence, and it's just a fun place for me to apply all the things that I learned on the mats and apply it into my professional career.
What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
I had a mentor at Fox, and he was really great. He told me to just learn and absorb like a sponge. He said, 'Continue to learn, Marie. Your admiration to learn is something that people will see, and then they will want to continue to help you.' That was something big for me. When I was at Fox, I would literally go to work on the weekends and just sit there and absorb. I loved it. I wanted to learn, and money was never the reason why I did anything. When I look back, I realize the reason why I was able to make good money as a business owner, or take a minimum wage personal training job and actually make a good living out of it, is because I focused on my why. I didn't focus on the money. The money was always a byproduct of focusing on my why, and why I was there, and who I was helping.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I think it's really important to find a support system. Find other women who are where you want to get to. It's so important to make those connections, continuously network, and find your tribe, both in the professional workspace and also in your personal life. That's something my parents instilled in me. They told me you are the average, or the sum, of the people that you hang out with the most. I feel very lucky. I have women in my life, my best girlfriends that not only support me, but they have a very similar hard work ethic, and it makes me want to keep working harder. In my professional space, I think being at Wellbiz is amazing, because our entire senior leadership, ELT or C-suite is like 90% female. That's really exciting for me to be surrounded by so many female C-suites. You've got to find those women, and most of the women, I'd say, do want to help and support you to get where you want to go.
What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think the biggest challenge is that a lot of these industries are still very male-dominated, so it's trying to really overcome that. Women are forced to kind of work extra hard to get where they are. It's not having an unfair playing field. I hate saying it, and I don't want to sound too feminist, but it's true. When you go to a meeting, you're the only woman in the room, and you're getting all these strange looks, and until you start speaking, they're like, oh, wow, she knows what she's talking about. So you're just constantly reproving yourself, and it gets annoying after a while. When I walk into the room, people see me and think I'm really young, and they don't realize the amount of experience and things that I've gone through to get to where I am. That's the biggest hurdle, is having to almost prove yourself and prove that you belong.
What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I would say the values that are most important to me are loyalty, authenticity, and just being kind. I think growing up with my sister that has special needs, it's just so important to just be kind to one another. You don't know what people are going through, and being kind and being nice doesn't cost a thing. I also value authenticity. Life is hard, and it is challenging. It's not everything that you see on social media. Sometimes when I do posts on social media, like when I was competing in jiu-jitsu, I created this reel and it was all my losses. People don't want to see you losing, and it sucks, but that's reality. I think those kind of reels do gain a lot of traction from people, because they're like, oh wow, you're not just highlighting all the amazing things that are happening. You're being vulnerable, and you're showing things that people probably don't want to share. But that makes you stronger, and you have to go through those things. You have to fail if you want to get on top, or succeed, or whatever it is that you want to do.