Peloton hires former Twitter executive Dalana Brand to be chief people officer

Peloton said Wednesday it hired former Twitter executive Dalana Brand to be its new chief people officer, as the fitness company continues its transformation and attempts to return to profitability. 

The hire – the second executive appointment to come from Twitter in recent weeks – completes the leadership team CEO Barry McCarthy has been building since he took over the company from founder John Foley last February, he said in a statement. 

“Talent density has been a top priority for me at Peloton. Dalana’s addition is the culmination of that strategy, rounding out and completing the leadership team,” McCarthy said. “As we continue Peloton’s transformation and pivot to growth, her vision and leadership will be critical to our success.”

Brand, who previously served as the chief people and diversity officer at Twitter, resigned in November days after Elon Musk bought the social media giant, took it private and installed himself as its CEO, throwing the company into turmoil.

She follows behind Leslie Berland, the former chief marketing officer of Twitter, who took the same job at Peloton in mid-January. She also left the social media company soon after Musk took over. 

Brand will serve an important role at Peloton as the company seeks to retain talent, attract new hires and boost morale after McCarthy issued in a new era of fiscal rigor at the once-profitable company and laid off more than half of its staff. 

Current and former employees previously told CNBC the transition has been difficult at times and morale has fluctuated. 

Peloton has been looking to fill the role since October after its former chief people officer, Shari Eaton, left the company as a series of other executives vacated their posts, including co-founder and former chief legal officer Hisao Kushi and former marketing head Dara Treseder.

“I’ve made a career out of fostering inclusive employee experiences and leading with transparency and accountability,” Brand said in a statement. “I’m thrilled to join the team at Peloton as the company continues striving to make fitness accessible for all.” 

In a news release, Peloton touted Brand’s “strong reputation for organizational transformation” across multiple industries. While at Twitter, she led the company’s global workforce and helped speed up its processes to make the workplace more inclusive. 

She previously served as vice president of total rewards for Electronic Arts and held senior leadership roles at Whirlpool Corporation. 

Brand starts the new job on March 13 and will report to McCarthy.