As foru International enters its third year of business, the skincare and nutrition company is welcoming a familiar face to its executive team. Foru has named Sharon Morgan Tahaney as President, succeeding Karl Krummenacher, who came on board when foru Holdings Inc. acquired the business in 2012.
Tahaney has held other executive leadership positions in direct selling, including a stint as president of foru predecessor GeneWize Life Sciences. Like foru, GeneWize marketed personalized nutrition products based upon an individual’s DNA results. Tahaney joined GeneWize just 8 months after the company launched in 2007. Prior to serving as president, she headed up the brand’s marketing efforts.
A family move ended Tahaney’s work with GeneWize, but in the interim the company has relocated its corporate headquarters to her new hometown of Dallas. When the opportunity arose to rejoin the company, foru’s unique product and story once again drew her.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that science and technology allow us to personalize nutrition and skincare according to our DNA,” Tahaney told DSN. “What’s missing from all the other product offerings out there is you—what do you specifically need and lack based on your genetic structure? We help people figure that out so they can look and feel their best.”
One of Tahaney’s first actions as President was to sit down with top foru Brand Partners and gather feedback on their needs and their vision for the future. She is reinforcing that same posture toward the company’s sales network among her corporate team members.
“We understand that we are a service organization to entrepreneurs in the field who are building their businesses,” said Tahaney, who has authored four personal finance books for independent entrepreneurs and a strategy book for direct selling executives.
To guide foru into the future, Tahaney and her team have developed a five-year plan that includes achieving 100 percent growth in 2015, advancing philanthropic efforts, taking DNA swabs of 1 million people, and earning a spot on the DSN Global 100. Having laid out a clear vision for the company, Tahaney says her primary goal is “to keep us focused on the mission critical, not every shiny new thing that comes along.”
Part of that mission is to create buzz and attract customers, and the young company is stepping up its media outreach and PR efforts, as well as its use of automated marketing tools. Last month, foru announced a strategic alliance with YEA Networks LLC, a media company whose lineup of popular, syndicated radio programs includes The Kidd Kraddick Morning Show. Two of the show’s hosts, J-Si Chavez and Jenna Owens, will promote foru’s products through YEA Networks’ online properties.
“This company has such an incredible story, and it’s been so unsung,” said Tahaney. “I want to change that.”
