Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ) honored Greg Horn with the NBJ Lifetime Achievement Award at the NBJ Summit on July 31.
 
The award was presented in front of an audience of more than 450 industry executives and leaders, and celebrates Horn’s career in transforming the nutrition industry.
 
Horn currently serves as managing director of William Hood & Company, a boutique investment bank focused on healthy living, and founder and CEO of Specialty Nutrition Consulting, where he provides non-financial strategic business advice commercializing nutrition innovations.
 
During his 11-year tenure at GNC, where Horn served as president and CEO, the company’s revenue grew from $400 million to $1.5 billion. He led a two-year turnaround and brand reinvention as CEO of Garden of Life. He was also instrumental in shaping dietary supplement regulations, through the “Save Our Supplements” campaign, which led to the creation of the Dietary Supplements Health and Education Act of 1994 (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 GNC. After being diagnosed with a chemical sensitivity disorder known as sick building syndrome, he couldn’t work indoors. He moved from GNC in Pittsburgh to southern Florida, where he changed his lifestyle to improve his health and began his entrepreneurial career. Horn collaborated on the inception and development of brands including functional beverage company Celsius, and a probiotic chocolate brand called Attune.
 
As co-founder of Nutrition Capital Network, Horn has identified and mentored groundbreaking nutrition companies. He 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,” and “Living Well.” “I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to contribute to an industry that has so much potential to improve human health.”