Team @ Peloton
Peloton Leaders: Meet Ariel Dos Santos

Peloton has over 8,500 team members world-wide who work across our technology, product, content (we have 40+ Instructors who are also full-time employees!), and of course our Member-facing teams like Member Support and Field Operations. Every team member plays a role in creating the best experience for Peloton Members.
Today we have the pleasure of meeting Ariel Dos Santos, VP of Product/Tech. Ariel oversees the technology powering Peloton Corporate Wellness. Prior to Peloton, he worked at some of the world’s largest technology companies and spent nearly eight years at Amazon working in a variety of areas, from the post purchase experience to Just Walk Out technology. With his team at Peloton, he helps make it even easier for organizations of all sizes to help employees stay active either through subsidized access to the Peloton App and All Access Memberships, as well as exclusive benefits on Connected Fitness products.
It’s a big responsibility that Ariel doesn’t take lightly. Here’s how he approaches his day to stay motivated and productive:
Rise and Shine, pacific time: Our home is in the beautiful Pacific Northwest in Seattle. I chose to work an east coast schedule, so my days start a bit on the early side, but they end earlier as well. That gives me a chance to pick up the kids from school, coach different sports teams, and spend more time with my wife and kids.
Accountability and prioritization: Every morning, I try to do a 5 or 10 minute meditation before the day starts, followed by writing down the three things I’m grateful for. These two relatively small exercises have really helped maintain perspective and reflection and help clear my head for the workday ahead. I also am a big believer in handwritten to-do lists -- so I usually write down my 3-5 big things for that day and that’s been great. Then a light breakfast of a cup of coffee and a yogurt.
Writing down what I need to accomplish during the day helps me make sure I’m also being a good husband and dad. It took me a few years after having kids to realize that I bring my best self to work when I’m also being a great dad and a husband. I didn’t acknowledge the intricate relationship between all those parts of my life. Alternatively, I am also a better dad and husband when I’m doing well at work. Therefore, making sure I am creating harmony across those areas is important. Just like leading a product/engineering team -- it’s all about prioritization. I can’t do everything and so I’m very intentional about how I can spend my time being a great dad, husband, and worker. For example, school pick-up and soccer practices are important moments for me and I try to never miss those.
Pushing and pulling the team: My days end up being a lot of meetings, but that’s part of the role. I spend a lot of my time with my team working on difficult problems, helping to remove roadblocks, and ensuring we are prioritizing the most important things. I once described my management style to someone as being the person that pushes you into uncomfortable areas, but is also your safety net. It’s really important that I lead in a way that makes people comfortable to take risks, while knowing they are being supported. That doesn’t mean people don’t make mistakes (myself included), but it means that you know you have my support in those.
I was really influenced by Adam Grant’s “Give and Take” book, where he talked about the power of generosity in the workplace. That has really shaped how I lead and spend my time -- realizing that the more I can give, the more I can add value to the team and the company. I also learned from my parents about the importance of being “eternally curious” -- always wondering about why something works the way it does or how something came to be -- that has been really helpful in my career as I’ve had to navigate new roles in unfamiliar areas.
Midday pick me up: I nearly always have music playing in my office. During the afternoon, I’ll generally turn on some music from my home country of Brazil that is full of energy and rhythm (which often leads to really bad singing on my part). I will also try to go for a walk or take one of my calls from a different room. I also know that my best work is usually in the early hours of the morning and so if I have work that requires some deep thinking -- that always happens in the morning. I try to be generous to myself that the afternoon isn’t my best thinking time.
Winding down: At the end of the day, I’ll usually look at the next day’s meeting and make sure I write down notes, goals, objectives for each meeting so I can be prepared for those. Knowing that this works for me, I also encourage my team to be purposeful about their priorities and recognize that you can’t do everything. And those priorities will change over time and acknowledging that is key.