Dive Brief:
- Peloton co-founder Tom Cortese is stepping down from the chief product officer role on Nov. 1, the company announced Tuesday in a press release.
- Nick Caldwell has been appointed as the at-home fitness company’s new chief product officer and will report to CEO Barry McCarthy. Caldwell has more than 20 years of global leadership experience, with previous roles at companies including Google, Reddit and Microsoft, per his LinkedIn.
- Cortese will move into an advisory role at Peloton to continue supporting its vision and growth.
Dive Insight:
Cortese is leaving the executive position at Peloton after more than a decade working for the fitness company.
"After nearly 12 years of pouring myself into Peloton and serving our Members, I have decided it is time to move on and create space for new perspectives," Cortese said in a statement. "I'm eager for new growth for Peloton and for me personally, but I'm also excited to support and watch this next phase of Peloton's evolution. I could not be more proud of what we have accomplished, together."
Cortese joins several other co-founders who have stepped down from executive roles at the company.
Chairperson and former CEO John Foley and Chief Legal Officer Hisao Kushi — who are also co-founders — announced they would exit Peloton in September 2022. The entrepreneurs joined Peloton co-founder Yony Feng in creating the direct-to-consumer rug brand Ernesta, which raised $25 million in a Series A round in November and includes five other former Peloton executives.
Caldwell joins Peloton after the company in May debuted a new brand identity in the hopes of positioning itself as “more than a bike company.” The announcement included new fitness content membership tiers, including a free option. Peloton recently hired Cédric Fletcher as its new senior vice president of apparel and accessories.
The company’s latest earnings results in August showed fourth-quarter total revenue declined 5% year over year to $642.1 million and net loss improved from $1.25 billion to $241.8 million. Overall growth for the quarter was hindered by a bike seat post recall, which included higher-than-expected costs and customer requests for replacements.
