Oprah quits WeightWatchers

Oprah Winfrey’s decision to quit the board of Weight Watchers is the clearest sign yet that more than a century of America’s dieting culture is over. The drugs have won, & the smart money knows it. https://lnkd.in/eBDYmisN

Over at WeightWatchers, they are having a very bad moment, thanks to Oprah Winfrey, and it should scare the daylights out of every one of us who leads anything. We do not pay enough attention, any of us, me included, to existential threats. Like, say, our very famous spokesperson rendering our product meaningless overnight. https://lnkd.in/ewAmFf-i But that’s what leaders are supposed to do, right? We are supposed to care about our people, yes – but also see around the corners no one else even sees coming. The first part is hard enough. The second part is brutal. So we usually skip it. I get it. Who wants to lay awake at night thinking about what could kill their business? I once ran a music tech start-up whose business model 100% depended on live events at college campuses. At first, our success exploded; it was unreal. Nothing could stop us. The pandemic did. In a meeting in October 2020, one of our board members said, “There are disasters, and then there are existential threats. Like the one killing you.” It did indeed kill us. I didn’t see it coming. Of course I didn’t. But here’s the thing. As a leader, I still should have been asking myself, “What could go very wrong here?” a lot more often than I did, which was not at all. Because I’m human. And so are you. But leaders, sometimes we need to be a little superhuman too, and stare into the abyss, so our people don’t have to. I was reminded of that today. How about you??

Oprah Winfrey is leaving the board of WeightWatchers, ending a nearly decade-long stint as a director of the beleaguered company that has faced sudden competition from Ozempic. Winfrey notified the company of her decision earlier this week, telling them she won’t be standing for re-election at its annual shareholder meeting coming up in May. A reason wasn’t revealed, but a WeightWatchers regulatory statement said that her “decision was not the result of any disagreement” or “any matter relating to the company’s operations, policies or practices.” “Oprah is an inspiring presence and passionate advocate both for our members and for society at large, in elevating the conversation around weight health,” said Sima Sistani, CEO of WeightWatchers, on a call with investors this week. “While I and the rest of our directors will certainly miss her in our board meetings following the end of her current term, she remains a strong strategic voice and collaborator with WeightWatchers.”

A quick one from me on Oprah Winfrey leaving the board of WeightWatchers and giving away her stake in the firm. #weightwatchers #oprahwinfrey #ozempic

Weight Watchers getting trimmed after Oprah leaves the board and donates her shares. #ww

The indications for anti-obesity medications are explicit about the fact that they are supposed to be used in conjunction with improved diet and increased exercise. One of the risks of the heavy telehealth-based fulfillment model we see today is that it can easily disconnect patients from the non-pharmacological parts of the process. Even the more integrated telehealth programs like WeightWatchers and Noom focus more on the eating components vs the exercise ones, and that’s likely the less important area given the way the GLP-1 treatments suppress appetite.? It’s very encouraging that there’s stronger treatment durability when medication is paired with exercise. We need to find ways at scale to make that the real-world treatment norm.

The WeightWatchers transformation is not just a business shift, but a cultural one. We have evolved the way our business approaches weight management and are committed to helping our members with weight loss, but most importantly,? to achieve health gains. Hear the rest of my conversation with Dr Sanjay Gupta here: https://lnkd.in/ey9rB2ZP

The WeightWatchers transformation is not just a business shift, but a cultural one. We have evolved the way our business approaches weight management and are committed to helping our members with weight loss, but most importantly,? to achieve health gains. Hear the rest of my conversation with Dr Sanjay Gupta here: https://lnkd.in/ey9rB2ZP