John Foley, Peloton’s co-founder and former CEO, is leaving the company

Peloton co-founder and former CEO John Foley has stepped down as executive chairman of the board, marking the latest major shakeup at the connected fitness company (via The Wall Street Journal).

Things have been pretty turbulent lately for Peloton. Despite selling much-loved products and classes, the company has had to cut jobs and adjust prices (both decreases and months later increases) this year after over-expanding to meet increased demand during the early part of the pandemic. In its Q4 2022 earnings report in August, the company reported an operating loss of $1.2 billion, although current CEO Barry McCarthy positioned its earnings as a sign of “substantial progress.”

Foley, who was Peloton’s CEO for nearly 10 years, stepped down from the post in February, but he will now move on from the company entirely. “Now is the time for me to start a new professional chapter,” Foley said in a press release. “I have a passion for building companies and creating great teams, and I’m excited to do it again in a new space.” Karen Boone, the board’s lead independent director, will become chairman of the board.

Foley’s resignation is not the only executive departure Peloton has announced on Monday. Hisao Kushi, the chief legal officer and another Peloton co-founder, has stepped down and is being replaced by Tammy Albarrán, Uber’s deputy general counsel. Chief commercial officer Kevin Cornils is also leaving.

Current CEO Barry McCarthy thanked the departing executives in a memo to staff: “Today’s changes are a reflection of personal decisions by leaders who paved the way for our future success, and we owe them our gratitude.” You can read McCarthy’s full memo below.

Team,

I would like to update you on several management changes in the company.

The changes include:

Co-founder and Executive Chairman John Foley has decided to step down from Peloton’s Board of Directors, and Karen Boone, our Lead Independent Director, has been elected to the role of Chairman of the Board (press release will be shared with you in a separate email).

Chief Legal Officer Hisao Kushi, who co-founded the company, will be leaving and Tammy Albarrán will be our new CLO. Tammy joins us from Uber.

Chief Commercial Officer Kevin Cornils will be leaving and we will not fill his role. Dion Sanders will add to his portfolio and take on many of Kevin’s responsibilities, becoming our new Chief Emerging Business Officer.

Jen Cotter, Chief Content Officer, will assume oversight of our apparel and accessories strategy and operations.

Dara Treseder, SVP Marketing, Communications, and Membership, will report directly to me.

Let me first say that there wouldn’t be a Peloton without John Foley or Hisao Kushi (or co-founders Tom Cortese, Graham Stanton and Yony Feng). They established the mission and values ​​that guide us to this day. Through their hard work, they have given the world the connected fitness industry and created a platform that empowers each of us to be the best version of ourselves.

We’ve all heard the stories of John’s relentless pursuit of this vision. Founders become founders because they see things the rest of us don’t and have the courage to go after it. Without John’s unwavering commitment to his dream, the passionate and dedicated community of nearly 7 million Peloton members would not exist. I want to thank John for paving the way.

The same goes for Hisao, who has guided Peloton’s intellectual property and legal strategy from day one. After deciding to step down and embark on a next chapter, Hisao collaborated with me on the process of vetting CLO candidates and recruiting his successor. I want to thank him for all he has done and his help during this transition.

We will share today’s press release with you in a subsequent email. Our external announcement celebrates two of our co-founders and their many contributions.

I would also like to thank Kevin Cornils, who joined Peloton in 2018 as MD, International and became Chief Commercial Officer in 2021. Kevin has worked tirelessly to grow Peloton into the international brand it is today and has recently helped innovating the company’s go-to market strategy and operationalizing new initiatives such as sales through 3rd party retail and our Peloton Rental offer. Kevin has decided that the time has come to look for another opportunity that will require him to travel less (he has been living on airplanes) and allow him to bring his energy, once again, to a business in a early stage looking to scale.

Today’s changes are a reflection of personal decisions made by leaders who paved the way for our future success, and we owe them our gratitude.

I am excited to work with Karen, Dion and Tammy in their new or expanded roles – as well as each of you – as we move into the growth phase of our transformation.

Me to you. You to me. you to each other. And all of us to our members.

– Barry