On your mark, get set, go.. Joe Kiani, Masimo founder, Executive Chairman of Willow and serial entrepreneur, reminisced fondly of memories of he and his sister racing through their neighborhood streets of Shiraz.

That was before his sister’s surgery.

“After that, she couldn’t even run,” said Kiani

Watching his sister struggle to walk again after her procedure was the first of his many exposures to a healthcare system that failed the people it was meant to serve.

That moment, according to Kiani, changed everything. What began as a challenging experience soon sparked a lifelong mission to protect patients, empower clinicians, and eliminate preventable deaths.

Today, Kiani is the founder and Executive Chairman of Willow, a startup focused on empowering people to change the trajectory of their health and lives through preventative healthcare. He’s also a fierce advocate for health equity, inclusion, and transparency in medicine. But behind his innovations is a deeply personal journey, a story rooted in grit, perseverance, and the pursuit of purpose over profit.

From Shiraz to Silicon Valley

Born in Shiraz, Iran, Kiani immigrated to the United States with his family at age nine. They arrived with limited English, few resources, and a fierce determination to build a better life.

The cultural and linguistic barriers were significant, but Kiani adapted quickly, fueled by an insatiable curiosity and passion for people. He became obsessed with electronics and by high school, was designing gadgets and circuit boards. At just 15, he began studying electrical engineering at San Diego State University. By 22, he’d earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

As a young man trailblazing a path in a landscape that needed evolution, he knew he was called to help create better healthcare systems than those that had let down the people he loved most in the past. But where to start?

The Pulse Oximeter That Changed Everything

That question found its answer inside the halls of a hospital. He found himself working with pulse oximeters, devices that measure blood oxygen, and quickly noticed something troubling. They weren’t accurate when patients moved or had low perfusion. This wasn’t a minor issue, lives were at stake.

Kiani knew there had to be a better way. In 1989, he founded Masimo from his garage with a vision: create patient-monitoring technology that worked in real-world conditions. After years of trial and error, he developed Signal Extraction Technology® (SET®) a breakthrough that dramatically improved the accuracy of pulse oximetry.

“Every sleepless night taught me this: when your mission is urgent, setbacks become fuel,” added Kiani.

Today, Masimo devices are used in hospitals worldwide and have helped prevent countless deaths.

Fighting for Transparency and Accountability

Innovation, however, was only half the battle. Kiani quickly encountered resistance from entrenched interests in the medical device industry. He was outspoken about unethical practices, from hidden pricing to anti-competitive behavior, and he didn’t hesitate to name names.

“Healthcare injustice doesn’t wear a villain’s face, it hides in forms, denials, and board rooms and waiting rooms. We need to pull it into the light,” he added.

That conviction led him to found the Patient Safety Movement Foundation in 2012. Its bold goal: achieve zero preventable deaths in hospitals by uniting clinicians, tech companies, and policymakers.

The foundation pushed hospitals to adopt actionable patient safety goals and urged companies to share data, an effort Kiani personally led by convincing dozens of manufacturers to open up their proprietary systems.

“It’s one thing to build products that monitor life. It’s another to remember the lives behind every data point. That’s the heart of it all,” he said.

An Immigrant Champion for Inclusion

Kiani’s commitment to justice extends beyond medicine. As an immigrant who faced his share of hurdles, he is a vocal advocate for diversity in corporate leadership.

Under his guidance, he has built teams and policies to foster inclusion and transparency. Kiani believes that diversity is not just ethical, it’s strategic.

“When people from different backgrounds collaborate, you get better ideas. More empathy. More breakthroughs,” he said.

Like Minded Labs and the Future of Connection

Beyond his contributions to the healthcare industry, Kiani is exploring new frontiers. His latest venture, as CEO of Like Minded Labs, is aimed at enhancing human connection in an increasingly digital world. While details remain under wraps, the mission is clear: use technology to enrich human interactions.

Purpose Over Profit

Through every chapter of his life, Kiani’s North Star has remained the same: impact.

“Some people see leadership as power. I see it as responsibility, to amplify good ideas, protect your team’s courage, and walk the path of truth even when it’s inconvenient,” he said.

Joe Kiani’s journey, from immigrant youth to tech visionary, is not just about building devices. It’s about building a better, fairer, safer world.

And for him, the work is far from over.