WeightWatchers' CEO embraced Ozempic. Now she's out of the company.
WeightWatchers
- WeightWatchers' CEO of roughly two years, Sima Sistani, is out.
- She helped push the company into the white-hot weight-loss drug space.
- Its interim chief said the company was in a critical period of transformation.
It's been a bumpy year for WW International, the company also known as WeightWatchers.
In a leadership shake-up Friday, the weight-loss company announced CEO Sima Sistani is stepping down after roughly two years — effective immediately — and board member Tara Comonte is stepping up to serve as interim chief.
"On behalf of the Board, I want to sincerely thank Sima for her leadership in advancing our strategy, for adding WeightWatchers Clinic to our offerings, and for her unwavering commitment to our mission," said Thilo Semmelbauer, Chairman of the WeightWatchers Board of Directors. "We wish her all the best in her future endeavors."
Sistani helped push the company into the weight-loss drug space in 2023 through the $106 million acquisition of telehealth platform Sequence — which is now called WeightWatchers Clinic, and which prescribes weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy.
"What we do best is help people with weight management. That is the anchor," Sistani told CNN back in November 2023. "I think we have to be true and authentic to that and who we are."
The telehealth purchase marked something of a pivot from the group support meetings and calorie-tracking menus WeightWatchers is known for, though the company also launched a behavioral program for patients on Ozempic.
In her CNN interview, Sistani said it was important for WeightWatchers to be clear that obesity is a chronic condition — one that certain people can treat with medication.
"It's not willpower alone," she said. "And what we are now saying is we know better and it's on us to do better so that we can help people feel positive and destigmatize this conversation around obesity."
But the changes at WeightWatchers haven't seemed to woo investors.
Shares have plunged about 90% year-to-date, trading at record lows under $1 in August after reporting disappointing quarterly results.
WW International said Comonte, with previous roles at TMRW Life Sciences and Shake Shack, would work to "sharpen its strategic focus, and evolve its behavioral and clinical offerings to drive growth."
In a statement, Comonte said she looked forward to advancing WW International's mission "during this critical period of our transformation."
WW International did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
Weight-loss drugs have upended the industry, with several healthcare companies seeking to capitalize on the hype of the effective, expensive medication.
WW International took a hit earlier this year when longtime shareholder and board member Oprah Winfrey said she was stepping down and donating her shares to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture.