• by Tanya Gazdik , December 16, 2023

Peloton’s former CMO hadn’t even had a chance to make her departure before the home fitness company announced her replacement. 

That move quickly ends any speculation on whether the floundering company would try to make do without a top marketer. 

There has been a shift away from CMOs, with companies like Anheuser-Busch InBev eliminating the position and shifting marketing to its chief commercial officer Kyle Norrington, per CNN Business. 

Pharma companies often assign marketing to chief commercial officers but some like Moderna are getting rid of that position and shifting marketing to the chief executive officer, according to Reuters. 

Lauren Weinberg will join Peloton Jan. 22, replacing Leslie Berland as chief marketing officer a week after she announced she was leaving to take on the top marketing job at Verizon. Berland’s official last day at Pelton is Dec. 31.

Berland was at Peloton for a mere 11 months. But Weinberg has her beat, having only spent two months leading marketing at Intuit. She was previously CMO at Square, prior to which she worked at Yahoo, MTV and AOL.

“Peloton is a brand on a turnaround mission,”  according toMarketing Week. “Despite being a pandemic success story with revenues soaring 99.5% as people across the globe turned to exercising at home, its growth wasn’t sustainable.”

Weinberg is joining Peloton during a period of change for the company, according toRetail Dive. Peloton in May relaunched its brand to reposition itself as “more than a bike company.”

Clearly, demand for the brand’s products are still there. 

Many Peloton users were unable to logo into the company's Thanksgiving ride, prompting the company’s CEO to apologize, according toThe Verge.

At 10 a.m. Nov. 23, ET Peloton kicked off its 10th annual “Turkey Burn” event, with the goal of breaking the Guiness World Record for “largest live cycling class.” But the company struggled with the demand.

While it might be embarrassing to have your system crash, at least it’s a sign of popularity. Peloton might need to expand its IT department, along with the new marketing hire.