Masimo Founder, Chairman, and CEO

Joe Kiani has been “solving the unsolvable” for over 30 years as an engineer and entrepreneur. He has a passion for improving patient safety through the development of unrivaled consumer and medical technology. He is the co-inventor of Masimo SET^® technology, which has been called “modern pulse oximetry.” SET^® revolutionized how clinicians measure this “fifth vital sign” and how they care for patients in the hospital and at home.

Founding Masimo

Joe founded Masimo in 1989, growing the company from a literal garage start-up into a successful publicly traded company that today holds thousands of healthcare and consumer-focused patents and whose technologies are used to monitor more than 200 million people a year. He continues to innovate and expand Masimo’s footprint in the professional healthcare and telemonitoring industry, while also leading the company into new avenues, such as consumer wearable devices and innovative audio solutions. Joe currently serves as the Chairman and CEO of Masimo.

The Patient Safety Movement Foundation

Joe founded the Patient Safety Movement Foundation in 2012. The nonprofit organization works to eliminate harm and deaths from preventable medical errors worldwide. It is estimated that medical errors will claim the lives of more than three million patients each year. Joe and the Patient Movement Foundation team seek to achieve zero preventable deaths from medical harm across the globe by 2030. Alongside the industry’s leading patient safety experts, Kiani created 18 Actionable Patient Safety Solutions, an online resource for hospitals and clinicians, which has been widely adopted.

The Masimo Foundation

Joe also founded the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation, and Competition in Healthcare, an organization committed to advancing positive change in the healthcare industry, improving patient care through new life-saving inventions, and supporting causes that foster innovation. Joe serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Masimo Foundation.

Other Prominent Work

In addition to Masimo, Joe is CEO of Cercacor, a spinoff company that focuses on health and wellness innovation. He is a co-founder of A Starting Point, a civic engagement media platform aimed at creating a more informed electorate, with actor and director Chris Evans and filmmaker and actor Mark Kassen. Additionally, Joe and Mark co-founded Like Minded Media Ventures, a media company focused on connecting artists and technology to tell stories about social causes and science.

Joe has been featured in Forbes, sharing his story of immigrating to the United States from Iran at nine years old to his academic and professional achievements today.

Philanthropic Efforts

Joe serves on numerous academic and philanthropic boards, including the University of California at Irvine (UCI) Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences Advisory Board, Caltech’s Board of Trustees, SDSU’s College of Engineering Advisory Board, and the Boards for the Children’s Hospital of Orange County and the Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research (FAER). Kiani is a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). PCAST advises President Joe Biden with policy recommendations regarding science, technology, information, and innovation.

Education & Awards

Kiani received Bachelor's and Master's in Science degrees in Electrical Engineering from San Diego State University (SDSU) and numerous awards, including the Society of Critical Care Innovation Award, the Ernst & Young National Life Science Entrepreneur Award, and the Hubert Humphry Dawn of Life Award. Joe was awarded honorary degrees of Doctor of Science from California State University and San Diego State University for his innovative and philanthropic work.

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