The Road to Palm Springs
Joe Kiani
CEO and Chairman
Masimo Corporation
Just over 20 years ago, an electrical engineer started a business in his garage. Today that business, Masimo Corporation, is a multimillion-dollar public company making non-invasive devices that improve patient outcomes and reduce health costs. And Joe Kiani is its CEO and Chairman.
For a long time, Joe had had an interest in signal monitoring and how it could be used for non-invasive patient monitoring. Starting with his savings and a bank loan, he developed the technology, raising just enough funds to operate 18 months at a time. Within three years, Joe had raised sufficient funding and was well on his way to creating products that monitor blood components and other physiological characteristics.
Hospital administrators and clinicians embraced Masimo’s superior technology, but larger, more established competitors and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) colluded to keep Masimo out of the market. Joe decided to fight and emerged victorious after a seven-year patent-infringement case. He believes that the outcome has inspired other inventors with similar issues.
In 2010, Joe created the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Healthcare to encourage and promote activities, programs and research opportunities that improve patient safety and deliver advanced treatments.
Although Joe is learning to become more of a coach than a player, his love for engineering has not waned. And he believes in hiring people who share the same passion he does when coming to the office. As he says, “If you love what you do, then it’s not work.”
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