Two Wollongong fitness brands join forces in merger
Mergers, management moves and the AI question facing Illawarra business
Two Wollongong fitness powerhouses announced a merger this week, bringing 450 members under the same brand.
Gateway Life and SAVVY will merge next year, with the two organisations set to operate as one from 1 April 2026, subject to final legal sign-off.
Under the arrangement, all services will move to Gateway Life’s existing premises at 65–69 Keira Street, Wollongong, and the combined operation will trade under a new name.
Staff from both businesses, including clinicians, trainers and support staff, will be brought together into a single workforce.
Clinical services like physiotherapy, exercise physiology, occupational therapy and dietetics will continue to be offered.
Once complete, the merged organisation will support more than 450 members and employ around 40 staff, delivering more than 200 hours of clinical therapy each week.
In a message to members, management said the merger would allow the organisation to invest in facilities and expand services over time.
Movers and shakers
There’s been movement at the top of several Illawarra organisations this week.
Earlier this week, Football South Coast announced that Ann-Marie Balliana will be moving on from her role as CEO. She has accepted a new position as General Manager with Our Community Project.
Football South Coast has now begun the search for its next chief executive, with the role currently being advertised here.
In other jobs news, MCCI is recruiting a Chief Financial Officer based in Wollongong, while i3net is seeking a Growth and Partnerships Manager to help expand its partnership network.
Meanwhile, Wave FM has announced a leadership change. Alisson Longhurst has joined the Wollongong team as General Manager, replacing Gavin Flanagan, who has taken on a new role as Group Sales Manager with the Super Radio Network Group.
The real AI risk for Illawarra businesses isn’t the technology
Artificial intelligence is already reshaping how Illawarra businesses operate, and leaders who treat it as a future problem risk being left behind.
That was the clear message delivered by Rael Bricker at The Illawarra Connection dinner on Tuesday, February 3.
Bricker challenged the room to confront an immediate reality: AI has already arrived, adoption is accelerating, and the real risk for organisations is not the technology itself, but how leaders choose to respond to it.
Here are five key takeaways for Illawarra business leaders.
AI adoption has shifted from years to months
Bricker said the pace of AI adoption is unprecedented, moving faster than any previous technology wave. “We now live in Google and Siri time,” he told the room, warning that leaders no longer have the luxury of gradual change.
2. The shift is from autopilot to co-pilot
Bricker challenged the long-held belief that AI is about automation. The real opportunity lies in augmentation — humans and machines working together. “The future isn’t autopilot,” he said. “It’s co-pilot.”
3. Ethics can’t be outsourced
Bricker warned that no algorithm can replace human judgment when decisions carry moral weight. When values, ethics, and human impact are involved, AI can support decision-making but cannot replace it.
4. Productivity gains are real — if used intentionally
From generating content to restructuring complex data in minutes, Bricker demonstrated how AI can reclaim up to 20 per cent of routine thinking time. The value, he stressed, is not replacing people, but freeing them to focus on higher-value work.
5. AI is a leadership issue, not an IT issue
Culture, trust and decision-making cannot be automated. According to Bricker, organisations that treat AI as a technical upgrade rather than a leadership challenge will fall behind.
Hot Ticket
The University of Wollongong will open its doors to the community today (Friday, February 6) for a special event that combines medical research, storytelling, and fundraising in support of motor neurone disease (MND).
The afternoon will feature guided tours of UOW’s medical research laboratories and the launch of an autobiography by former Edmund Rice College principal Peter McGovern, who is living with MND. Mr McGovern recently visited the Yerbury Lab, where researchers are working to understand better understand and treat the disease, an experience he reflects on in his book.
Visitors can attend the book launch, hear from researchers and tour the lab facilities. Funds raised will support continued MND research. The book launch is open to all from 1pm to 5pm at the Sciences Teaching Facility, Building 43.G01, Wollongong Campus.
Lab tours are available by registration.
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