WeightWatchers is undergoing significant leadership changes. WW International announced on Friday that CEO Sima Sistani would vacate her position immediately. Tara Comonte, a WeightWatchers board member and former Shake Shack executive, has been appointed interim chief executive.
The New York-based weight loss company did not provide specific reasons for this sudden shift but mentioned that Comonte’s leadership comes at a crucial time when the company is focused on enhancing its operational and financial performance.
Established more than six decades ago, WeightWatchers has faced recent challenges. Its latest earnings reports revealed declining profits and substantial costs stemming from restructuring efforts. The company’s stock has seen a dramatic fall, plummeting over 90% in the past year, closing at approximately 83 cents on Friday and now trading as a penny stock.
Sistani took on the role of CEO over two years ago, steering the company towards the prescription drug weight loss market. Notably, she led the $106 million acquisition of Sequence, now known as WeightWatchers Clinic, a telehealth service that facilitates prescriptions for weight loss drugs such as Ozempic, Wegovy, and Trulicity.
Before joining WeightWatchers, Sistani co-founded Houseparty, a social networking app that featured group video chatting and has since been discontinued. She also held a senior leadership position at Epic Games.
Comonte, who joined WeightWatchers’ board in June 2023, most recently served as CEO of fertility company TMRW Life Sciences. Prior to her role at TMRW, she was president and CFO of Shake Shack. Besides her current position at WeightWatchers, she is also on the boards of Kindbody and Strava.
Comonte expressed her enthusiasm for working with WeightWatchers’ leadership team to advance the company’s strategy during this pivotal transformation period.
With Sistani’s departure from the board, WeightWatchers has decided to reduce the size of its board from nine to eight members. Earlier this year, the company had reduced its board from ten to nine members following the resignation of former talk show host Oprah Winfrey. Winfrey, who had been on the board since 2015, announced in February that she would step down and donate her shares to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.
Winfrey’s departure came after she revealed in December 2023 that she was using a weight-loss medication. At the time of her resignation, the company explained that Winfrey aimed to eliminate any perceived conflict of interest.
