Plexus Worldwide News

Plexus Worldwide Joins University of Illinois Personalized Nutrition Initiative as External Partner

Press Release | 10/13/2026

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona - October 13, 2026

Plexus Worldwide has joined the External Partners Program of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the Scottsdale-based direct seller announced Tuesday. As part of the arrangement, Dr. Ren-Hau Lai, Plexus's vice president of product innovation and a University of Illinois graduate, has been appointed to the initiative's External Advisory Committee.

The Personalized Nutrition Initiative is a campus-wide research effort housed at the university's National Center for Supercomputing Applications. According to the company, it brings together about 75 affiliated faculty from 24 departments spanning nutrition, food science, medicine, data science and artificial intelligence, with a focus on evidence-based work in personalized nutrition. The External Partners Program connects the university's researchers with organizations from the food, agriculture, health and technology sectors.

Plexus said the partnership is meant to support research-driven advances in personalized nutrition and gut health, the category the company has built its product line around. Lai said personalized nutrition is "moving quickly from research into everyday practice" and that the program places Plexus alongside researchers and other organizations committed to scientific evidence.

Dr. Sharon Donovan, director of the Personalized Nutrition Initiative, welcomed Plexus to the program, describing it as a partner-driven setting where industry participants work on shared challenges.

Stuart MacMillan, Plexus's chief executive and growth officer, said the company aims to become "the number one gut health company in the world" by personalizing the experience for each brand ambassador and customer, and called the arrangement "a true partnership where each strengthens the other."

The announcement did not disclose financial terms, the length of the partnership, or any specific research projects or studies Plexus will fund or take part in.

Founded in 2008, Plexus Worldwide sells gut health and wellness supplements through a network of independent brand ambassadors.

Shaklee and CEO Roger Barnett File Libel Suit Against Plexus Worldwide in Federal Court

Court Filing | 9/10/2026

Shaklee Corporation and its chairman and CEO, Roger Barnett, have sued Plexus Worldwide, LLC for libel and slander in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

The case, Shaklee Corporation et al v. Plexus Worldwide, LLC, No. 1:26-cv-03176, was opened September 10, 2026. The complaint, which includes a jury demand, was entered on the docket September 11 and invokes the federal court's diversity jurisdiction. Attachments listed with the complaint include a letter marked as Exhibit A, a summons to Plexus Worldwide and a civil cover sheet. Shaklee also filed a certificate disclosing its corporate affiliations and financial interests.

The same day, the clerk issued a notice of new case error, directing the plaintiffs to file a corrected initiating pleading that lists the name and full residence address of each party, as required by the court's local rules. The notice said the case would not proceed until the error was corrected.

The public docket does not describe the statements the plaintiffs say were defamatory, and the complaint itself was not publicly posted. Plexus had not filed a response as of the docket entries available.

The suit follows litigation Plexus brought against Shaklee in Arizona. On July 23, 2026, Plexus sued Brooke and Thomas Hemingway in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona for breach of contract, and later amended its complaint to add Shaklee Corporation as a defendant. Plexus filed a second amended complaint on September 16. On September 30, Shaklee moved to dismiss that complaint and filed a separate motion to dismiss under the Arizona anti-SLAPP statute, supported by a declaration from Barnett. The Hemingways also moved to dismiss. On October 15, the Arizona court gave Plexus until October 21 to respond to the motions.

Plexus Promotes Stuart MacMillan to Chief Executive and Growth Officer

Press Release | 8/25/2026

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- August 25, 2026

Plexus Worldwide appointed Stuart MacMillan as chief executive and growth officer, saying he will lead the company into Vision 30, a strategic plan aimed at establishing Plexus as a leader in gut-health education and innovation.

MacMillan previously served as chief global development officer and has more than three decades of leadership experience in retail and direct selling. Co-founders Tarl Robinson and Alec Clark will serve on a newly formed Plexus Executive Board providing strategic counsel on operations, customer experience and product development.

The company said MacMillan will focus on global expansion and digital transformation, including a new ecommerce platform, automations and analytics for Brand Ambassadors.

Plexus Worldwide Names Gene Tipps Chief Executive Officer as Founders Step Back

Press Release | 10/4/2022

Plexus Worldwide appointed Gene Tipps as chief executive officer effective October 3, 2022. Co-founder Tarl Robinson stepped down from the CEO role at the end of September, and co-founder Alec Clark will remain with the company until early 2023.

Tipps joined Plexus in 2018 as chief operating officer and was named president of global operations in 2021. He previously held senior roles at Yevo and LifeVantage. Robinson and Clark will serve as chair and vice chair of a newly formed strategic council of four outside industry experts that will act in a visionary and advisory capacity.

Clark's continued role into 2023 is intended to ensure a smooth changeover at the Scottsdale, Arizona based health and wellness direct seller.

Plexus Names Gene Tipps President of Global Operations

Npros.com | 10/20/2021

Plexus Worldwide appointed Gene Tipps president of global operations. He had been chief operating officer at the Scottsdale headquarters since joining in 2018.

In that earlier role he worked with teams that launched more than 30 products, widened distribution, strengthened supply chain work in existing markets, and supported entries in Australia, Mexico, and Canada. The company credited him with expanding warehouse operations while those markets were opening.

The new title keeps him over global operations rather than creating a separate outside hire. Plexus did not announce a successor to the chief operating officer title.

Plexus Names Jennifer Orlando Chief Sales Officer

Press Release | 8/17/2021

Plexus Worldwide hired Jennifer Orlando as chief sales officer. She will set global sales strategy, lead sales efforts, and set revenue initiatives for current countries and new markets. She will be based at headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, and support ambassadors in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Australia.

Travis Garza, president of sales and marketing, said Orlando would help growth in those markets and support about 500,000 ambassadors. Before Plexus she was chief sales officer at Arbonne, where the company said she led a global strategy tied to double-digit growth. She has also worked at Ever Skincare, Benefit Cosmetics, and Estee Lauder, with more than 20 years in sales, marketing, and leadership.

Orlando said the role is meant to help ambassadors raise their goals as the company adds products. The appointment puts a chief sales officer over the global field organization.

Plexus Worldwide Promotes Jack Spitzer to Chief Financial Officer

Npros.com | 10/14/2020

Plexus Worldwide promoted Jack Spitzer to chief financial officer. He has been senior vice president of finance at the company since August 2018 and has more than 25 years in finance, including financial transformation, team building, and risk management.

Christopher Pair, president of operations and international, said Spitzer matches company beliefs around trust, honesty, reliability, and responsibility, and that his plan for the finance department has already shown his value.

Before Plexus, Spitzer was vice president of finance at another direct selling company, where he led global treasury and international and domestic merchant services, among other teams. He also spent 15 years at Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide as assistant treasurer and head of global treasury operations, merchant services, and corporate receivables, with other roles in finance, information technology, and Six Sigma.

Spitzer said he is honored to join the C-suite after a couple of years at Plexus and that he will keep bringing ideas aimed at the company financial goals while the leadership team focuses on products and service.

Plexus Worldwide Names Travis Garza President of Sales and Marketing

Npros.com | 9/22/2020

Plexus Worldwide named Travis Garza president of sales and marketing, putting him over sales, marketing, and customer service as the company looks for long-term growth.

Founder and chief executive Tarl Robinson said Garza has spent 20 years in sales and marketing and has helped businesses hit new revenue highs, including two that reached nearly 1 billion dollars in annual revenue. Robinson said Garza is a user of Plexus products and will be asked to build teams, relationships, markets, and field leaders.

Garza most recently was president and chief executive of Kyani International, where he directed work tied to sales growth and operations in more than 60 countries.

Founder and president Alec Clark said Garza builds collaborative teams and that the company expects him to help move the organization forward. Garza said he is joining because of the culture, values, and what he called a deep sense of integrity, and that he will work with Robinson, Clark, and the rest of the company.

Plexus Worldwide Named to Inc Magazine Top 5000

Press Release | 9/4/2014

According to Tarl Robinson CEO, the company had just 2,000 ambassadors in 2010. Today, the Arizona based company boasts a fleet of 175,000. "We have a philosophy of treating people first-class," says Tarl Robinson CEO, who bought the company in 2008. "The last time your average 45-year-old had a round of applause for them was when they walked across a high school or college stage to receive their diploma. Recognition is key." The company puts its ambassador's interest above everything else. The scope of Plexus is to offer its ambassadors with life changing products and a unique and rewarding business opportunity. The company's core beliefs are be trustworthy, be honest, be reliable and responsible. "We decided to do multilevel marketing as it could and should be done, not the way it has been done," states Alfred Pettersen, International President.

In addition to this latest success, Plexus Worldwide has enjoyed some other major milestones as well. In 2013, Morgan Stanley presented them with the Smart 25 Award for being one of the Top 25 fastest growing privately owned companies in America. Plexus hit a new high of $30 million in a single month in March of this year. Featured in the July issue of Success at Home magazine. Plexus also touts being ranked 76 out of the Top 100 Companies by Direct Selling News. The debt-free company projected is to be a billion-dollar company in 2015.

Inc. Magazine's Top 5000 rankings are based on a three-year growth rate and are open to privately-held, independent, for-profit companies with a minimum of $100,000 in revenue in 2010 and a minimum of $2 million in 2013.