WeightWatchers is struggling in the weight loss drug era — and now the CEO is out
WeightWatchers (WW) International said Friday that CEO Sima Sistani is stepping down immediately. She will be replaced by Tara Comonte, a board member and the former CEO of Shake Shack (SHAK), who was appointed as interim chief executive effective immediately.
Sistani leaves the parent company of the once popular points-based weight loss program as it faces challenges in adapting to the growing popularity of weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound.
“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,” Thilo Semmelbauer, chairman of the WeightWatchers board of directors, said in a statement. “We wish her all the best in her future endeavors.”
Sistani joined WeightWatchers in 2022 and led the company for about two-and-a-half years. Under her leadership, WeightWatcher acquired the the telehealth platform Sequence and started offering its members the highly-coveted weight loss drugs.
But the bet hasn’t seemed to pay off yet. WeightWatchers stock is down more than 90% since the beginning of the year.
In August, Sistani revealed that the struggling company would cut $100 million in costs over the next year by streamlining its operations and reducing its workforce, including a 40% cut in positions at the vice president level and above.
The news comes at a time when a class of weight loss dugs known GLP-1 treatments have been putting pressure on WeightWatchers. These drugs, which mimic a hormone that regulates appetite and blood sugar, have shown remarkable effectiveness in treating obesity and type 2 diabetes.
Market leaders Novo Nordisk (NVO) and Eli Lilly (LLY), the pharmaceutical giants behind popular GLP-1 drugs Wegovy and Zepbound, respectively, have seen their stock prices soar as a result. Novo Nordisk stock has climbed 39% over the past 12 months, while Eli Lilly shares have surged 68%.
Media mogul Oprah Winfrey, who has acknowledged taking weight loss drugs, left her spot on the WeightWatchers board earlier this year. She had been a member of the board since 2015. At the time, Winfrey said she was donating all her WeightWatchers shares to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
WeightWatchers said it supported Winfrey’s decision, which it added would “eliminate any perceived conflict of interest around her taking weight loss medications.”
