Henry Burdick

Henry Burdick General Information

Biography

Mr. Henry Burdick served as Strategic Partner at Westwind Investors. Henry Burdick has been an innovative leader and executive in the vitamin and nutrition industry for over 45 years. Mr. Burdick was born in Cuba and was raised in the US and Mexico with a strong appreciation for all three cultures. He has spent his adult life primarily in the US as an entrepreneur, executive, and investor. He has been an investment partner and close advisor to the Westwind principals since 1996, during which time he has collaborated on some of the Westwind principals' most successful legacy investments. Mr. Burdick began his leadership in the nutrition industry in 1971 by co-founding Pharmavite, where he created the best-selling brand, Nature Made. At various times he served as Chairman, President, and CEO of Pharmavite, until selling to Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. in 1989. Mr. Burdick then partnered with Otsuka and became Chairman and CEO of Otsuka Beverage of America. He directed the acquisition and development of The Crystal Geyser Water Company, which became the market leading alpine spring water in the Western US. In 1996, Mr. Burdick founded Pharmanex, in order to bring Chinese medicine to the western world. During his tenure at Pharmanex, Mr. Burdick served as Chairman and CEO, introducing five breakthrough branded nutraceutical products that gained distribution in 40,000 retail stores. In 1998, Pharmanex was sold to NuSkin, which accelerated their development as a wellness company. In 2003 Mr. Burdick was part of the investment group, which included J.H. Whitney & Co., that took private Herbalife International. From 2003 to 2006, through the turn-around and subsequent IPO of Herbalife, he served as Vice Chairman and was responsible for overseeing the company's product development initiatives in addition to serving as a key strategic advisor to the CEO. Mr. Burdick has a B.A. degree from California State University at Northridge.