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Peloton CEO John Foley is stepping down as part of a corporate shakeup

The company is also cutting about 20% of its corporate workforce.

CEO John Foley

John Foley is stepping down as Peloton's CEO.

Photo: Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Peloton's CEO John Foley is resigning, and the company is slashing about one-fifth of its corporate workforce, affecting 2,800 jobs, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Foley's departure follows pressure from Blackwells Capital, an activist investor that had called for Foley to leave.

Foley will become executive chairman of the company, and former Spotify CFO Barry McCarthy will take over as CEO and president. “I have always thought there has to be a better CEO for Peloton than me,” Foley said. “Barry is more perfectly suited than anybody I could’ve imagined.”

Peloton President William Lynch will also resign from his executive role but remain on the board, and Erik Blachford, a director since 2015, will leave the board. Angel Mendez, who runs an AI firm, and Jonathan Mildenhall, Airbnb's former CMO, will join as new directors, according to WSJ.

Amazon, Nike and others have reportedly been looking to buy the exercise technology company as its stock sank and it laid off a slew of sales and marketing workers. Late last month, Blackwells Capital had called for Foley's resignation, citing what the investor saw as a series of missteps by Peloton's leadership.

Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Blackwells Capital. This story was updated Feb. 9, 2022.

Sarah Roach

Sarah (Sarahroach_) writes for Source Code at Protocol. She's based in Boston and can be reached at sroach@protocol.com

john foleyresignationpeloton
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