WeightWatchers CEO suddenly quits after push to embrace weight-loss drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy
WeightWatchers CEO Sima Sistani abruptly stepped down Friday after a two-year stint that included a controversial embrace of weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy.
Sistani pushed the 61-year-old company — famous for in-person meetings and portion control — to buy a telehealth platform that connected patients with doctors who can prescribe the popular obesity medications.
However WeightWatchers’ shares have been in freefall, plummeting more than 90% this year.
The stock was down nearly $3 Friday, trading below $1.
Before the COVID pandemic, and the explosion in weight-loss drugs, the stock reached a peak of more than $44.
Tara Comonte, a board member who previously served as president of Shake Shack, has been tapped as interim CEO while the company mulls a full-time replacement.
Former talk show queen and WeightWatchers board member Oprah Winfrey announced earlier this year that she was leaving the company’s board after she began taking weight-loss medications.
Sistani, 61, sought to capitalize on the craze surrounding the weight loss drugs.
Under her leadership, WeightWatchers acquired Sequence, which has since been rebranded as WeightWatchers Clinic.
The telehealth clinic allowed the company to begin dispensing GLP-1 drugs in addition to its traditional menu of behavioral change programs.
But competition in the telehealth sector — particularly among companies that offer versions of the GLP-1 drugs — has hindered WeightWatchers.
Last month, the company cut its full-year sales target and announced it would be streamlining its business in the face of a “rapidly changing landscape.”
The forecast cut sent the stock price down even further.
Prior to being named CEO in 2022, Sistani was co-founder and CEO of Houseparty, a video chat app that allowed up to 8 people to join a group call at any one time.
