Publications
Publications
- January 2023 (Revised May 2023)
- HBS Case Collection
Peloton Interactive (A)
By: Suraj Srinivasan, Lynn S. Paine and David Lane
Abstract
Early in February 2022, the board of Peloton Interactive faced some knotty challenges. Immense pandemic demand for its stationary exercise bicycles and treadmills had prompted the firm to scale up production rapidly. But as gyms reopened and the virulence of the virus ebbed, demand had ebbed too, leaving Peloton with unsold inventory, an unsustainable cost structure, and Nasdaq’s worst-performing stock for 2021. Activist shareholders were calling on the board to remove the founder CEO, who was board chair and a controlling shareholder through a dual-class share structure, and sell the company to a strategic investor. Complicating external pressure for change was a dual-class share structure that gave insiders a high degree of control over governance.
Keywords
Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Growth Management; Investment Activism; Leadership; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Sports Industry; United States
Citation
Srinivasan, Suraj, Lynn S. Paine, and David Lane. "Peloton Interactive (A)." Harvard Business School Case 323-005, January 2023. (Revised May 2023.)