Peloton announced that two of its co-founders are leaving the company.
On Monday, Peloton announced that its co-founder and now executive chairman of the board John Foley has resigned effective Monday, while co-founder Hisao Kushi will no longer serve as the company's chief legal officer on October 3. Another executive, Kevin Cornils, who served the company as chief commercial officer since 2018, will also end his tenure on September 23.
The shakeup comes after Peloton laid off hundreds of employees three times in 2022 alone and closed a number of stores. Insider reported that in August, Peloton let go of more than 700 employees in its customer service and distribution department after cutting 2,800 jobs in February and laying off 570 employees in Taiwan in July.
Peloton's Stock Crashes Post-pandemic as Economy Reopens
Peloton was founded in January 2012 by Foley, Kushi, Graham Stanton, Tom Cortese, and Yony Feng. The company went public in 2019 and soon after saw its stock reach a high of about $167 in October 2020 amidst the pandemic, when people moved towards working out at home instead of the gym due to pandemic restrictions. But that all soon came crashing down as Peloton stock now stands at $11.05, seeing an almost 70% drop this year alone, CNBC reported.
When Foley stepped down from his role as CEO in February, Spotify CFO Barry McCarthy took his place. Now, McCarthy is looking to dramatically change the business to keep it afloat. Adding to McCarthy's team who will steer the ship moving forward is Tammy Albarrán, who will serve as both chief legal officer and corporate secretary, TechCrunch reported.
In a prepared statement, McCarthy expressed his gratitude towards Foley and Kushi for their "countless contributions" to Peloton. Foley, on the other hand, promised in a statement that he is "leaving the company in good hands."
How Peloton is Moving Forward Under McCarthy's Leadership
McCarthy believes that personalization is key in helping renew the Peloton brand. The CEO had spent almost 20 years at Netflix and Spotify, two companies in which personalization is central to the way the product is presented to consumers.
According to Axios, McCarthy revealed on Monday at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia + Technology Conference that Peloton is considering a "more Netflix-like experience" through personalization. For now, Peloton offers some degree of personalization, but McCarthy believes that the platform can improve on providing customers with an "incredibly engaging experience."
McCarthy also admitted that the company has not "invested in personalization nearly to the degree that will drive an infinitely better user experience" and promised that in the next 12 month, the company will make personalization central to the user's content experience.
Last month, a spokesperson for Peloton told Insider that their price increases, decision to distribute on Amazon, and layoffs are all part of the company's strategy to ensure "long term success." The spokesperson added that by enacting these steps, the fitness company could "become more efficient, cost effective, and agile."
