Melanie Whelan, SoulCycle’s CEO since 2015, has resigned. Sunder Reddy, SoulCycle’s CFO since 2017, will assume the role of interim CEO while a search for a permanent replacement begins.
“I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to have led the SoulCycle team and brand over the past nearly eight years during a transformational time for this amazing community,” Whelan said in an e-mail to media outlets. “The future is bright for this one-of-a-kind organization and I will be cheering on its continued growth and success.”
Harvey Spevak, executive chairman of SoulCycle, said, “Melanie and I have worked together for many years and I look forward to seeing what she conquers next,” Spevak said. “We’re grateful to have such a strong interim leader in Sunder throughout this transition, and are actively supporting him as we search for a permanent replacement.”
Whelan joined SoulCycle in 2012 as COO and previously had been VP of business development for Equinox, a sister company of SoulCycle. In 2015 as she assumed the role of CEO, SoulCycle filed to go public but withdrew its IPO in May 2018 due to “market conditions.”
Whelan’s resignation came after SoulCycle in August made national news when Stephen Ross, chairman of the parent company of Equinox and SoulCycle, held a fundraiser for Donald Trump, leading to a boycott by many SoulCycle riders.
SoulCycle has over 95 SoulCycle locations in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.
