Good morning! Meta’s elimination of fact-checking opens the door to misogynistic speech, Jane Fraser faces a test at Citi, and Fortune’s Alexa Mikhail reports on Thrive Global’s innovative partnership in the health care space.
– Healthy habits. Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global aims to help people build healthy habits. Today, the company announced a partnership with a Fortune 500 pharma giant that makes that mission even more accessible.
Huffington tells Fortune exclusively that Eli Lilly will share Thrive’s methodology for living healthier through content—healthy recipes, de-stressing videos, and lifestyle recommendations—via its digital health care platform LillyDirect, where people book appointments and request prescriptions.
“It’s a very different playbook than pharma has used so far, and indeed, than the health care industry has focused on,” says Huffington. With a nod to the popularity of diabetes and weight management drugs known as GLP-1s, she hopes that expanding the platform elevates the importance of utilizing medicine alongside lifestyle changes. “Although we’ve known about the science of behaviors for a while, they haven’t really been embedded in the life of the patient, in conjunction with medicine.”
For Eli Lilly, the nearly $41 billion-in-revenue company that makes the weight loss injectable Zepbound, the partnership is an effort to “put holistic health above all,” says global chief customer officer and group vice president Jen Oleksiw.
In the U.S., nearly 130 million adults live with at least one major chronic condition, like heart disease or diabetes. Chronic conditions account for the majority of the nation’s $4.5 trillion yearly health care expenditures. Extensive research shows that healthy lifestyle habits, such as getting enough quality sleep and moving daily, are critical for longevity and for managing and staving off chronic diseases, which are the leading causes of sickness, disability, and death in the U.S.
Last year, Thrive Global teamed up with OpenAI to create Thrive AI Health, an AI-powered health coach trained on the company’s behavior-change research and customers’ self-reported health data to provide real-time lifestyle recommendations on sleep, exercise, diet, and social connectedness.
Eli Lilly and Company also just announced their investment in the AI branch of Thrive, alongside original funders, the OpenAI Startup Fund and the Alice L. Walton Foundation.
The partnership presents a shake-up to traditional health care delivery, and faces the challenges of overcoming patient hesitancy and lack of trust. Still, Huffington says, “This is a transformational moment.”
Alexa Mikhail
alexa.mikhail@fortune.com
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ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Meta moderation. Meta’s changes to its content moderation guidelines, eliminating fact checking and adjusting its hateful conduct policy, open the door to more misogynistic speech. Now permitted under the updated policy and no longer subject to removal: Meta users calling women “household objects or property.” CNN
- Altman allegations. Ann Altman accused her brother Sam Altman, OpenAI CEO, of sexual abuse. She alleged almost a decade of abuse in a lawsuit filed on Monday; Sam Altman said the claims were “utterly untrue.” Ann Altman has previously raised claims of abuse against her brother on social media. Bloomberg
- Tough task. Some Wall Street analysts are questioning whether Citi chief Jane Fraser will hit a key target—tangible common equity. “We suspect that if [Fraser] doesn’t show real progress relatively soon, she will be forced out to make way for someone who can,” Oppenheimer analyst Chris Kotowski wrote in a note to clients on Friday. Financial Times
- Last today. Hoda Kotb is starting a wellness company after she steps down as co-host of NBC’s Today, where she has worked for 17 years. Her venture, which is still in the works, will have a podcast, retreats, and app. Kotb will make her last appearance on the Today show tomorrow. USA Today
MOVERS AND SHAKERS
Blue Shield of California, a healthcare provider, named Lois Quam CEO; she is the first woman to hold the role. Quam was previously the company’s president.
Supreme Group, a marketing and communications company for life science companies, appointed Krysta Pellegrino as chief growth officer and Britt Thompson as chief commercial officer. Previously, Pellegrino was chief client officer at Health+Commerce and Thompson was EVP of corporate and commercial strategy at Inizio Evoke.
Syndigo, a product experience management company, appointed Leah Allen as CMO. She was most recently CMO at Storyblocks.
GEMMA Biotherapeutics, a therapeutics company, appointed Dr. May Orfali as chief medical officer. Previously, she was chief medical officer at Harbinger Health.
Quest Diagnostics, a health diagnostics services provider, named Adrienne L. Brott SVP and chief quality and regulatory affairs officer. She most recently served as SVP, quality and regulatory for the acute care therapies division of Getinge.
Read AI, a productivity AI company, named Kate Reinmiller VP operations and Sarah Spagnolo VP communications. Most recently, Reinmiller was COO, head of sales at MGOL and Spagnolo was VP communications at Stash.
ON MY RADAR
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There’s a $32 trillion reason to bet big on women entrepreneurs as your 2025 investment resolution Fortune
PARTING WORDS
“What have you learned in the last six months?”
— The question Accenture CEO Julie Sweet says the firm asks all prospective hires
