Herbalife Hires Lobbyist Tyrone Bland To Manage State And Local Government Relations

Herbalife Ltd. said Wednesday it has hired a lobbyist to manage its relationship with state and local governments. The nutritional products company said Tyrone Bland is joining its corporate affairs team as vice president of state and local government relations. Bland was previously a managing partner at Porter Tellus LLC. Herbalife has famously been embroiled in a battle with Pershing Square Capital Management LP's William Ackman, who has accused the company of operating a pyramid scheme. The activist investor has a billion dollar short position on the stock, or a bet that it would fall. Herbalife has denied the accusations, and its stock soared 66% in 2015.