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Herbalife said it named Pamela Jones Harbour,
who was an FTC commissioner from 2003 to 2010, as senior vice
president, global member compliance and privacy. She will be in
charge of the company's 300-member compliance team and
coordinate global compliance.
Herbalife earlier this year said it was being investigated by
the FTC following allegations that the company was a pyramid
scheme.
Herbalife has been under fire from billionaire investor William
Ackman, who was the first to claim that the company is a pyramid
scheme. His $14.7 billion hedge fund Pershing Square Capital
Management unveiled a $1 billion short bet against Herbalife in
December 2012.
Herbalife has rejected the allegations, and has asked the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether
short-sellers illegally manipulated the market.
Herbalife's share price hit $81 briefly in January but has
struggled to get about $55 over the past two months. The shares
closed on Friday at $44.61?
One of Harbour's challenges will be to ensure that far-flung
distributors selling Herbalife products, often out of small
centers with small staffs, steer clear of exaggerating claims
about Herbalife's protein and vitamin shakes.
"I will develop and enhance training programs, develop and
ensure consistent enforcement of rules," she said. "The
challenge that I have is making sure that (distributors) don't
make claims above and beyond what they should make."
Harbour said she has been using Herbalife's Formula 1 shake mix
since 2004.
Companies operating in the United States are not allowed to
advertise that products will help a user lose weight, or make
other health claims, unless the statement is backed up by
science.
Harbour, an antitrust expert, is also a veteran of the New York
attorney general's office.
Harbour will also work on privacy and cyber security matters for
Herbalife.
(Reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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