Keeping SoulCycle at a Sprint and Ahead of the PackSoulCycle CEO Melanie Whelan talks about perfecting the customer experience, harnessing your team's talent and chasing a certain former president.

Melanie Whelan is not new tocustomer service. Before joining SoulCycle as COO in 2012 and moving into the role of CEO in 2015, she cut her teeth at Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Virgin America (which she helped launch) and Equinox Fitness. Now, in the increasingly crowded world of boutique workouts, Whelan is tasked with keeping SoulCycle ahead of thecompetition-- in the very industry it helped spawn. Her plan: Grow steadily from its 77 current studio locations, with an eye toward international domination; treat customers like family; galvanize her ever-expandingteam; and of course, never forget where the company finds its soul.