Thorne HealthTech taps former Vitamin Shoppe CEO Watts as leader

By Abigail Summerville

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private equity firm L Catterton has appointed former Vitamin Shoppe CEO Colin Watts as Thorne HealthTech's next leader following its $680 million acquisition of the U.S. health and wellness company in October.

Thorne told Reuters on Wednesday that Watts will succeed outgoing CEO Paul Jacobson, who will lead a new business called Thorne Ventures that researches and develops scientific wellness breakthroughs.

Thorne provides at-home health tests and supplements for sleep, fertility, stress, gut health and more. Thorne Ventures will aim to identify the next generation of products and services in the wellness space. They will operate as two separate units that will have a high degree of collaboration.

Watts, who led Vitamin Shoppe between 2015 and 2018, also previously served as president of Weight Watchers Health Solutions, chief innovation officer at Walgreens, and global operating president of McNeil Nutritionals and Consumer Healthcare, a division of Johnson & Johnson.

Paul Jacobson, a Thorne co-founder, has also served on its board of directors since 2010. He also co-founded Onegevity Health, LLC, which became a division of Thorne in 2021.

Thorne's current Chief Operating Officer Tom McKenna, who has been with the company for 14 years, will continue in his role.

Thorne has more than five million customers, including thousands of professional athletes, over 100 professional sports teams, and multiple U.S. National Teams.

(Reporting by Abigail Summerville; editing by Diane Craft)