The Herbalife Story
Our Founder
Mark Hughes (Founder)
The extraordinary vision and commitment that inspired Mark Hughes to found Herbalife began when he was just a teenager. Due to the tragic loss of his mother due to unsafe dieting practices, Mark made a promise to find a way to help people lose weight safely.
Mark went to China to study the time-honored practice of using herbs for improving health. Impassioned by what he learned, he returned to the U.S. to form a team of medical and nutritional experts to create Herbalife’s breakthrough products. In 1980, Mark launched Herbalife by working as the first Distributor selling the nutritional products.
it’s the excitement and the way that they act.”
As more and more people tried the products and experienced amazing results, the business quickly expanded. Mark developed a network of Distributors who shared his vision, were passionate about the products and excited about the business opportunity. Mark encouraged Herbalife Distributors to “have faith in the organization, to know that it’s going to work.”
“Through your efforts, people are discovering new worlds of opportunity and an eternal hope for the future.”
Speak with people who met Mark and they will tell you how he motivated them to commit themselves to reach greater heights personally and professionally. He inspired people from all walks of life through his faith in people’s ability to change lives, starting with their own. Mark believed that one person can truly make a difference and that difference is a healthier world.
“I am convinced the future will be brilliant beyond compare.”
Mark's vision for changing people’s lives – helping people manage their weight, regain their health and find financial prosperity – continues to thrive. Today, there are 2 million Herbalife Distributors in over 72 countries, making their dreams of a healthier life and financial independence come true.
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“Introducing balanced nutrition to millions of people in the world is a dream come true for me.”
Michael O. Johnson is chairman and chief executive officer of Herbalife. As CEO, he oversees all aspects of the company’s global operations. He is the voice of the company to our Distributors, sets the vision and strategy, and ensures that the company has the resources necessary to meet its goals.
Since Johnson joined Herbalife in April 2003, the company strengthened product development by establishing Nutrition and Scientific Advisory Boards and funding the creation of the Mark Hughes Cellular and Molecular Nutrition Laboratory at UCLA.
Under his direction, the company has had a “mega” product launch each year including Niteworks™ for overall cardiovascular wellness in 2003; the ShapeWorks™ weight-management program and Garden 7™, essential fruit and vegetable phytonutrients in convenient daily packs in 2004; vitamin-based skin-care line NouriFusion™ and Liftoff™, the first effervescent energy drink in dissolvable tablet form, in 2005; and immunity booster Best Defense®, and Skin Activator® anti-aging line in 2006.
On the financial side, Johnson engineered a recapitalization of the company, leading a public debt offering that reduced the LBO debt and returned $380 million to existing shareholders. In December 2004, he led the company’s initial public offering and listing on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:HLF). The IPO improved Herbalife’s capital structure replacing $270 million of higher yield fixed debt with $200 million of lower yield variable debt. The company had record retail sales of $3.8 billion in 2008.
Johnson spent 17 years with The Walt Disney Company. While leading Buena Vista Home Entertainment, he restructured the way the video rental industry operated by shifting to a revenue-sharing business model, introduced the Disney “sell-thru” business globally, and engineered the master plan for expansion of the company’s worldwide video presence by establishing Disney subsidiaries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East.
As president of Walt Disney International, Johnson devised and launched “Disney I”, a subscription entertainment service with NTT DoCoMo in Japan that serves in excess of three million subscribers. Before assuming his role at Disney, Johnson served as publisher of Audio Times magazine and was a sales and marketing executive with Warner Amex Satellite Entertainment Company directing activities for MTV, Nickelodeon and The Movie Channel on the west coast.
Johnson is a fitness enthusiast who has been participating in triathlons for more than fifteen years. He’s led efforts to engage employees, and Herbalife Distributors, in the Nautica Malibu Triathlon, an event that now raises funds for Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. After reorganizing the Herbalife Family Foundation (HFF) in 2005, Johnson spearheaded the company’s 25th anniversary celebration fundraising effort that raised more than $1 million for HFF. Through his vision, HFF launched its Casa Herbalife program to bring good nutrition to needy children.
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