Bangkok--May 13--Spark Communications
Herbalife Thailand Welcomes Former President of Walt Disney International Michael O. Johnson to Company
Herbalife International Inc. has announced the appointment of Michael O. Johnson as chief executive officer. Johnson spent 17 years with the Walt Disney Corporation and brings to Herbalife a demonstrated track record of success as a proven leader and manager, including significant achievements in business building, global operations, sales leadership, marketing, and product innovation. Mr. Johnson most recently served as president of Walt Disney International, a position he had held since 2000, succeeding current Disney President Bob Iger.
"We are very excited to have Mr. Johnson on board- he is a proven leader and we looks forward to the experience and innovation he will bring to Herbalife," said Ms. Wallapa Narunatvanich, Herbalife International (Thailand) General Manager. "His outstanding track record in building strong businesses with consumer products at Disney, including sales leadership, marketing and product development, make him the ideal choice to lead Herbalife."
In Thailand, Herbalife was established in 1997. Since 1997, Herbalife's direct selling business in Thailand has been continuously developed and the company enjoyed growth of over 100% in 2001. Herbalife currently has more than 5,000 active distributors and 25 full-time staff and is a member of the Thai Direct Selling Association (TDSA).
During his career at Disney, Johnson engineered the expansion of the company's worldwide video presence from 34 markets in 1986 to more than 80 markets today, and the creation of the Disney subsidiaries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. Disney quickly became the number one home entertainment distribution organization under Johnson's helm, and has maintained that position for more than 15 years. From 1986 he took control of a licensee operation and created subsidiaries worldwide, dramatically growing the unit to produce in excess of US$1 billion in revenue.
"I am very excited to take the helm of Herbalife International," stated Mr. Johnson. "Company founder Mark Hughes established a strong and lasting legacy of focusing on helping people change their lives through weight loss and wellness. Twenty-three years later, Herbalife is a well-established organization with terrific products and a powerful world-class consultative sales network comprised of more than one million distributors. I am looking forward to the challenge of leading Herbalife to the next stage of growth."
Herbalife (Thailand) has been continuously developed and has recently announced the launch of two new supply chain management (SCM) initiatives aimed at increasing the efficiency of its ordering, order confirmation and delivery processes. The company said the new initiatives will see the majority of distributors receiving deliveries by the next working day and guarantee delivery within 72 hours. A new SMS service will also be automatically sent to distributors to confirm the processing of all orders.
About Herbalife International
Founded in 1980 as a California limited partnership, Herbalife has become one of the largest weight management and nutritional supplement firms in the world. The Company offers a wide range of weight management products, nutritional supplements and personal care products intended to support weight loss and a healthy lifestyle. As of April 2003, the Company conducted business in 58 countries in the Asia/Pacific Rim, Europe and the Americas. The Company's products are marketed primarily through a network marketing system comprising approximately one million distributors. In 2002, the Company had gross revenues of US$1.8 billion.
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