The Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ) honored Greg Horn with the prestigious NBJ Lifetime Achievement Award at the NBJ Summit on July 31. Presented in front of more than 450 industry executives and distinguished leaders, this esteemed honor celebrates Horn’s exceptional career in transforming the nutrition industry through his visionary leadership and unwavering commitment to enhance health, drive innovation, and foster sustainability.
Since its establishment in 2000, the NBJ Lifetime Achievement Award has celebrated individuals who have made exceptional contributions to the natural products industry in a career spanning 30 years or more. This prestigious award honors those who have shown integrity, leadership, and a dedication to advancing the field of nutrition and health. Notable past winners include Loren Israelsen (2000), Elliot Balbert and Howard Schiffer (2004), Mark Blumenthal (2005), Steve Allen and Robert Orr (2008), Al Powers (2009), and Dr. Jeffrey Bland and Dave Brubaker (2011). More recent recipients include Sen. Tom Harkin (2014), Linda Kahler (2015), Dr. Tieraona Low Dog (2016), Patricia Bragg and Dr. William Sears (2020), and Sen. Orrin G. Hatch and Sandy Gooch (2021).
Currently, Horn is distinguished by his roles as managing director at William Hood & Company, a leading boutique investment bank focused on healthy living, and as founder and CEO of Specialty Nutrition Consulting, where he provides non-financial strategic business advice on commercializing nutrition innovation.
Horn’s career includes operational, entrepreneurial and transactional leadership. GNC’s revenue grew from $400 million to $1.5 billion during his 11-year tenure which included serving as president and CEO. He successfully led a two-year turnaround and brand reinvention at Garden of Life as CEO, positioning it as a top brand in the U.S. natural channel. He was also instrumental in shaping dietary supplement regulations through the “Save Our Supplements” campaign, which led to the pivotal 1994 law creating the regulatory structure for the U.S. dietary supplements category in the form of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA).
“Greg Horn’s career has been truly amazing. He started out as one of the youngest CEOs in our industry running GNC,” said Tom Aarts, founder and co-chair of NBJ Summit. “He deserves this Lifetime Achievement Award in spades. His contributions to the natural products industry surpass those of most executives in our time. DSHEA wouldn’t have happened without him.”
Horn had a major setback in his mid-30s while leading the multi-billion-dollar company GNC. After being diagnosed with chemical sensitivity disorder, also known as sick building syndrome, he couldn’t work indoors. After leaving GNC in Pittsburgh, he relocated to the milder climate of South Florida, dramatically transformed his lifestyle to improve his health, and launched his entrepreneurial career. Horn’s nutritional insight and market intuition have led him to collaborate on the inception and development of pioneering brands such as Celsius, a functional beverage validated by human clinical trials and now a public company with more than $1.4 billion in annual revenue, and Attune, the first probiotic chocolate, now a part of Post Holdings. As co-founder of Nutrition Capital Network, Horn has been instrumental in identifying and mentoring groundbreaking nutrition companies seeking funding to grow and flourish. He has also authored and co-authored 16 patent applications in therapeutic nutrition compositions and human health.
“When I was 15 years old, I read a book called ‘Sugar Blues’ that encouraged me to reduce sugar, and this lifestyle change made me feel so much better that it sparked a lifelong fascination with the idea that health can be strongly influenced by nutrition,” said Horn, best-selling author of “Living Green” (2005), and “Living Well” (2016). “I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to contribute to an industry that has so much potential to improve human health.”
Throughout his career, Horn’s leadership, curiosity, and ability to cultivate collaboration has had a transformative impact on advancing health and wellness. Explore more about Horn’s impactful career and ongoing contributions at https://greghorn.com.
