Weight Watchers' CEO James Chambers Is Stepping Down

Weight Watchers International Inc. said Chief Executive James Chambers is stepping down at the end of September and that the weight-loss company is starting a search for his successor that will involve board members including media mogul Oprah Winfrey.

The New York company's shares, which have dropped 55% this year, declined 3.5% to $10 in after-hours trading.

Weight Watchers said it is creating an interim office of the CEO to lead the company until a permanent successor is found. The interim office of the CEO will include Chief Financial Officer Nicholas Hotchkin, recently elected board member and a former chief operating officer Thilo Semmelbauer and board member Christopher Sobecki.

Mr. Hotchkin said Weight Watchers is confident it can deliver revenue and earnings growth for 2016, after posting a string of weaker results in recent years.

Chairman Ray Debbane said that over the past three years Mr. Chambers has led the company's turnaround efforts, returning its membership recruitment to growth, transforming its technology platform and introducing its new holistic program called "Beyond the Scale."

Ms. Winfrey took a 10% stake in Weight Watchers in October of 2015, making the former talk show host one of its biggest shareholders. Under the terms of an initial five-year partnership, Ms. Winfrey was to join the Weight Watcher's board, advise the company and lend her name and image for Weight Watchers marketing efforts.

Mr. Chambers joined the company as chief operating officer in early 2013 and was named CEO that July, taking the helm as the company was struggling to recruit and retain paying members amid growing competition from free smartphone apps and gadgets to help track calories.

Write to Tess Stynes at tess.stynes@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 12, 2016 17:45 ET (21:45 GMT)

Willis Towers Watson Pub... (NASDAQ:WTW)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024