WeightWatchers CEO quits dieting firm after struggling to compete with growing demand for fat jabs like Ozempic and Wegovy
The boss of WeightWatchers has quit as the dieting firm struggles to compete with the growing demand for fat jabs.
The boss of WeightWatchers has quit as the dieting firm struggles to compete with the growing demand for fat jabs.
The rise of treatments such as Ozempic and Wegovy has hit the companys popularity in recent years.
Last year it announced that multi-million-dollar celebrity investor Oprah Winfrey would be leaving its board.
And now the US group, founded in 1963, has said chief executive Sima Sistani is stepping down after two years in charge.
WeightWatchers is now valued at about £49million – a far cry from its £5 billion peak of 2018, and shares are down 90 per cent so far this year.
Sima Sistani, the boss of WeightWatchers, has quit as the dieting firm struggles to compete with the growing demand for fat jabs
Ozempic has already been blamed for the demise of fellow diet brand Jenny Craig
During Sistanis two-and-a-half-year tenure, WeightWatchers in 2023 acquired the telehealth platform Sequence, now known as WeightWatchers Clinic, expanding into obesity drug prescriptions.
Board member Tara Comonte, who will lead the group on a temporary basis until a new boss is found, said: I am confident that we have the right team in place and are focused on the right strategies to drive growth.
Comonte joined the WeightWatchers board in June last year. She previously served as CEO of TMRW Life Sciences, after working as a President and finance chief at fast-food chain Shake Shack.
The company also reaffirmed its prior full-year 2024 forecast for revenue as well as adjusted operating income on Friday.
Ozempic has already been blamed for the demise of fellow diet brand Jenny Craig. The firm – a household name since the 1980s – announced in May 2023 it was shutting down as it struggled with debt.
