Halle Berry, the actor, producer and director, recently began what she calls her second act: a role as chief communications officer at Pendulum Therapeutics, a probiotics company backed by investors such as Sequoia Capital.
“I feel it’s incumbent upon me to use any influence I have over everyday people for good,” she said Thursday at the Bloomberg Technology Summit in San Francisco. Berry, who was diagnosed with diabetes when she was younger, joined the company in February after using Pendulum’s product, which is designed to restore metabolic health.
Berry said she was a Pendulum customer for about a year, based on the recommendation of a friend, before reaching out to the company’s chief executive and co-founder, Colleen Cutcliffe. She said taking the job stemmed from her experience using the product, rather than a desire to get deeper into the startup world.
“I wouldn’t be sitting here wanting to help her and align with her if I really didn’t feel like this is something that really worked for me,” she said.
Pendulum Therapeutics has raised about $123 million from investors such as Sequoia, Khosla Ventures and the Mayo Clinic, according to PitchBook. The company offers several probiotics, including one focused on helping people with Type 2 diabetes manage their glucose levels.
“All probiotics are not created equal,” said Berry, 56. “I do think this is a revolutionary product.”
