Weight Watchers’ shares are, like many of its customers, no stranger to yo-yoing. But on Wednesday, the announcement that it had found a new chief executive tacked more than 10 per cent onto its shares in after-hours trading.

Mindy Grossman, who has served as chief executive of direct-to-consumer content and commerce company HSN Inc, will take over the top role at Weight Watchers in July. Its previous chief executive, James Chambers, left the company in September last year.

Weight Watchers shares have soared and fallen dramatically over the past few years, not least when one of its top shareholders and most prominent advocates, Oprah Winfrey, has credited the company for her weight loss.

Ray Debbane, chair of the company’s board of directors, said in a statement:

“I’m delighted that Mindy will be joining Weight Watchers as CEO and director. Mindy has an incredibly successful track record of bringing bold and transformative ideas to businesses to unlock their potential. Over her illustrious career, she has worked with some of the biggest brands and has consistently translated consumers’ interests and aspirations into visionary innovations. Weight Watchers has returned to growth and Mindy is the right person to take our business to a whole new level and empower the brand to realize its full potential.”

Ms Grossman — whose resume also includes stints at IAC Retail, Nike, Polo Ralph Lauren and Tommy Hilfiger — called the new job “a tremendous opportunity to leverage technology and consumer insights to create innovative personal experiences, build loyal communities and accelerate growth.”

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