Oprah Winfrey, Former talk show host is leaving WeightWatchers board of directors and donating all of her interest in the company to a museum.
It has been reported that Oprah Winfrey, who has been serving on the board of WeightWatchers since 2015, is leaving the company’s board of directors. She has decided not to stand for re-election at the company’s annual meeting in May. Winfrey has also announced that she is donating all of her interest in the company to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.
WeightWatchers said in a regulatory filing that Winfrey’s decision to leave was not due to any disagreement, Oprah Winfrey, has recently announced that she is leaving the board of directors of WW International, formerly known as WeightWatchers.
Winfrey has been a board member since 2015, and her departure has caused the company’s shares to drop by more than 23% in Thursday morning trading.
WeightWatchers released a regulatory filing stating that Winfrey’s decision to leave the company was not due to any disagreement with the company’s operations, policies, or practices. The company’s board will reduce from 10 to 9 members after the annual meeting takes place in May.
Although Winfrey is leaving the company’s board, she has pledged to continue advising and collaborating with WeightWatchers and its CEO, Sima Sistani, to raise awareness about obesity as a chronic condition, reduce stigma surrounding the issue, and advocate for health equity.
According to FactSet, Oprah Winfrey is currently the largest individual shareholder in the company, with a 1.43% stake, equivalent to 1.1 million shares.
However, Winfrey has announced that she will donate all of her interest in WeightWatchers to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which is part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.
The company has confirmed that it supports Winfrey’s decision to donate all her stake to the museum during WeightWatchers upcoming trading window in March.
WeightWatchers has also stated that Winfrey’s decision to donate her stake to the museum is to support the NMAAHC’s goal to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans and to eliminate any perceived conflict of interest around Winfrey’s use of weight-loss medication. The company has also confirmed that Winfrey intends to donate the proceeds from any future exercises of her WW stock options to the NMAAHC.
It is worth noting that nearly a year ago, WeightWatchers announced that it was getting into the prescription drug weight loss business with a $106 million deal to buy Sequence, a telehealth provider with annual revenue of about $25 million and about 24,000 members rely on any matter relating to its operations, policies or practices. The size of its board will go from 10 to nine members after the annual meeting.
According to FactSet, Oprah Winfrey’s stake of about 1.1 million shares made her the company’s largest individual shareholder, with a stake of 1.43%.
However, WW International’s shares tumbled more than 23% in Thursday morning trading following the news of Winfrey’s departure.
The company has stated that it supports Winfrey’s decision to donate all of her stake to the museum during WeightWatchers upcoming trading window in March. “Ms. Winfrey is making the donation to support the NMAAHC’s goal to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans and to eliminate any perceived conflict of interest around her taking weight loss medications,” the company said. “In addition, Ms. Winfrey intends to donate the proceeds from any future exercises of her WW stock options to NMAAHC.”
Oprah Winfrey has confirmed that she will continue to advise and collaborate with WeightWatchers and CEO Sima Sistani in elevating the conversation around recognizing obesity as a chronic condition, working to reduce stigma, and advocating for health equity. It is worth noting that nearly a year ago, WeightWatchers announced that it was getting into the prescription drug weight loss business with a $106 million deal to buy Sequence, a telehealth provider with annual revenue of about $25 million and about 24,000 members.