Michael O Johnson and Herbalife: A Marriage Made in Heaven?

Michael O Johnson has been CEO of Herbalife since 2003

If Herbalife were looking to embody their aims and ambitions in one man, they have found the ideal person in Michael O Johnson. A model of good health and financial success, Johnson is the perfect role-model for all Herbalife distributors and prospects. For a company which aims to improve the health and financial well-being of others, Michael O Johnson seems to have been born for the role. This article will examine the life and achievements of Herbalifes CEO, and ask: Just who is Michael O Johnson?

Herbalife Before Johnson: The Good, The Bad And the Ugly
Under the leadership of founder Mark Hughes, Herbalife had become a hugely successful and profitable company, however they were plagued by controversy surrounding the quality of their products, the structure of their business and the integrity of Hughes himself. Hughes death at the age of 44 from a suspected drug overdose did little to enhance the reputation of Herbalife amongst its detractors, although Hughes remained a hero to the companys loyal supporters.

Michael O Johnson Arrives At Herbalife

It was three years after Hughes death that Michael O Johnson was recruited from The Walt Disney Company as Chief Executive Officer of Herbalife. Johnson carried a Batchelor of Arts in Political Science from Western State College, and had been at Disney since 1986, where he

worked as president of Buena Vista Home Entertainment. Upon his appointment, Johnson cited his passion for triathlon running, swimming and cycling as one of the key factors motivating his decision to join Herbalife. His appointment was a masterstroke. What better way to prove the effectiveness of your products than by showing your top man to be using them, and thriving with them? Johnson himself described the job as mixing a personal passion with a business passion.

A New Era For Herbalife

Johnson immediately set about implementing improvements within the company, nowhere less so than with the products themselves. In the same year that he joined Herbalife, the company awarded a grant to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to set up aCellular and Molecular Nutrition Laboratory bearing the name of Herbalifes late founder, Mark Hughes. Further, a Nutrition Advisory Board, which included Nobel Prize-winning scientist Louis Ignarro, was established, and strict quality control procedures were introduced. Johnson continues to take great pride in the science which he believes underpins his companys products. In December 2005, Johnsons hard work was officially recognised when he beat some of Americas best-known CEOs to win the Wall Street Journals MarketWatch Readers Choice CEO of the Year award, taking an incredible 55% of the vote. His vote dwarfed runner-up, Apples Steven Jobs, who achieved 15% of the vote, and Googles Eric Schmidt, who gained 9% to come in third.

Under Fire: Johnson Stands Firm

Under Michael O Johnsons leadership, Herbalife doubled its net sales, and saw its stock soar by 124% in just 52 weeks, however Herbalife still struggled to shake off critisicm about the health risks associated with their products, and the controversy surrounding their multi-level structure. Accusations of pyramid selling and suggestions that their products contained a dangerous volume of lead prompted Johnson to make a number of high-profile defences of Herbalife on, amongst other things, Fox News and CNBC. Even Ignarros stunning scientific achievements were not enough to shelter him from criticism, and some of the products he has pioneered for Johnson have continued to be slaughtered by critics. Johnson, however, is no shrinking violet, and he was commended for

putting his neck on the block to answer difficult questions about Herbalife. He remains very pro-active in his defence of the company, and is determined to make Herbalife one of the biggest and most respected companies in the world.