NEW YORK — NEW YORK (AP) — WeightWatchers is shaking up its management.
WW Worldwide introduced Friday that CEO Sima Sistani would go away her position efficient instantly. Tara Comonte, a WeightWatchers board member and former Shake Shack govt, was made interim chief govt.
The New York-based weight reduction firm did not reveal the explanations behind the abrupt transfer, nevertheless it famous that Comonte would step into the position of CEO at a time when the corporate is “centered on bettering its operational and monetary efficiency.”
WeightWatchers, which was based extra than 60 years in the past, has struggled some lately. Its newest earnings reviews confirmed slipping earnings and prices racked up from restructuring efforts. Its inventory additionally has plummeted over time. WW shares are down greater than 90% over the past 12 months; now buying and selling as a penny inventory, they closed at about 83 cents on Friday.
Sistani joined WeightWatchers as CEO greater than two years in the past. Throughout her tenure, she led the corporate’s latest strikes into the prescription drug weight reduction enterprise — notably with the $106 million acquisition of Sequence, now WeightWatchers Clinic, a telehealth service that helps customers get prescriptions for medication like Ozempic, Wegovy and Trulicity.
Previous to becoming a member of WeightWatchers, Sistani co-founded Houseparty, a now-discontinued social networking app that supplied group video chatting. Along with serving as CEO of Houseparty, Sistani was beforehand a senior chief at Epic Video games.
Comonte joined WeightWatchers’ board again in June 2023. Most lately, she was CEO of fertility firm TMRW Life Sciences — and labored as president and CFO of Shake Shack previous to that. Past her present place at WeightWatchers, she additionally serves on the boards of Kindbody and Strava, in keeping with the corporate.
In an announcement, Comonte stated she appeared ahead to working with WeightWatcher management “as we advance the corporate’s technique to increase entry and care throughout this important interval of our transformation.”
With Sistani stepping down from her place on the board, WeightWatchers stated it could cut back the scale of its board from 9 to eight members.
WeightWatchers beforehand decreased its board from 10 to 9 members earlier this 12 months — after former speak present host Oprah Winfrey stepped down. Winfrey, who had served on WeightWatchers’ board since 2015, stated in February that she would go away her place and donate all of her curiosity to the Nationwide Museum of African American Historical past and Tradition, a part of the Smithsonian Establishment in Washington.
The transfer got here after Winfrey advised Folks journal that she was utilizing a weight-loss medicine in December 2023. On the time of her departure, the corporate stated that Winfrey aimed to “remove any perceived battle of curiosity.”
