Tom Cortese

Tom Cortese was John Foley's colleague at Barnes & Noble who became a co-founder of Peloton after Foley pitched him the idea that technology could make it possible for people with little time to get the full experience of working out in a high-end studio cycling class in their homes. Cortese's decision to leave a stable corporate career to join Foley's startup demonstrated the persuasiveness of Foley's vision and provided the company with a co-founder who understood the target customer demographic from personal experience.

Tom Cortese is a co-founder of Peloton Interactive who was working with John Foley at Barnes & Noble when Foley first conceived the idea for a connected fitness platform. Cortese's decision to join Foley in founding Peloton provided the company with an additional co-founder who understood the target customer demographic of time-pressed professionals and could contribute to the early product development and business strategy. Cortese eventually departed Peloton as the company scaled and professionalized its management team.