James H. Whittam, president and chief executive of the Shaklee Companies, died April 15 of cancer. In 1997 he spearheaded the establishment of Yarnonouchi Shaklee Pharma (YSPharma, Inc.), a company representing the pharmaceutical division. He was previously with the company from 1978 to 1984 as manager of several research divisions. He graduated magna cum laude with a B.A. in chemistry from City College of New York (1972), then was a chemistry instructor at the City University of New York where he earned his Ph.D. in chemistry in 1975. CUNY honored Dr. Whittam with the Curman and Myron Pantzer Awards. He then went on to complete an MBA degree from Boston University School of Management in 1977. He served on community boards in the San Francisco Bay area, was a member of numerous professional and scientific organizations, and published extensively in scientific and trade journals. He was an avid athlete and competed in both the Boston and New York marathons. He served as a member of the U.S. Ski Team Sports Medicine Council and as nutritional consultant to the U.S. Ski Team for eight years.

Article copyright American Botanical Council.

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By Barbara A. Johnston