Elizabeth Holmes / Theranos

ELIZABETH HOLMES
Founder and CEO of therenos
AGENDA
Who is Elizabeth Holmes?
Key values and philosophy
Leadership Style
Holmes as a Global Leader

Holmes and Theramos
Vision
Fundamental Truth
Wrap Up and Questions
WHO IS ELIZABETH HOLMES?

Dropped out of Stanford University in 2003
She spent 10 years secretly developing an easier
way to test blood
Founded a diagnostic company, Theranos
Requires only a thumb prick of blood to run a
test
Partnered with Walgreens, Theranos is slowly
opening clinics in pharmacies around the
country, starting in California and Phoenix
She hopes to open in all 8,400 Walgreens
At the age of 31 she is the youngest self-made
woman on the Forbes 400 rich list
Current net worth of $4.5 billion
KEY VALUES AND PHILOSOPHY

He was diagnosed one day with
skin cancer, which all of a
sudden was brain cancer and in
his bones. He didnt live to see
his son grow up, and I never got
to say goodbye.
AUTHENTIC LEADERSHIP
Holmes upbringing has fostered an authentic leadership style:
She knows who she is
What she believes and values Live a purposeful life
She acts upon these values and beliefs with full transparency
I grew up with stories of greatness and about people deciding not to spend their
lives on something purposeful, and what happens to them when they make that
choice-the impact on character and quality of life.
TRANSFORMATIONAL
LEADERSHIP
Every time you see a glass
ceiling, theres an iron
woman underneath it.
Elizabeth Holmes
U.S. Department of States TechWomen
Initiative. Oct. 2015 Palo Alto, CA
Inspired by former Prime

Minister Margaret Thatcher,
The Iron Lady
Contributing to the global community.
TRANSFORMATIONAL
LEADERSHIP
Access to affordable blood tests.

Global expansion? 3rd world application?
Creating solutions that benefit

everyone.
Inspiring future leaders.
Networking events.
Discussions & interviews.
Despite accusations, presses on.
TRANSFORMATIONAL
LEADERSHIP
Transforming Healthcare by Em
bracing Failure
GLOBAL LEADERSHIP JOURNEY

Intrigued by her fathers work in China.
Learned Mandarin Chinese at age 8.
Spent teenage years in China.
while still in school, started a business
selling C++ compilers to Chinese
universities.
Internship at the Genome Institute of

Singapore 2002/2003.
worked on developing new methods to
detect the SARS virus in blood.
WHY A GLOBAL LEADER?

What makes a global leader?
Travel? Foreign employees?
Global Corporation? Awards?
Holmes has a global mindset.

Has ability to:
1.Connect
2.Create
3.Contribute

United States Presidential
Ambassador for Global
Entrepreneurship.
Youngest person to be awarded
the Horatio Alger Award.
TIME 100 Most Influential People
in the World in 2015.
Honorary doctorate - Pepperdine
University.
Board member of the Harvard
Medical School Board of Fellows
and the CSIS Board of Trustees.

Connecting with organizations and
people.
Early years in China / learning
Chinese.
cultural connection.
Partnering with Walgreens

business connection.
U.S. Department of States

TechWomen Initiative.
tech- and science-focused
mentoring sessions
professional development workshops
networking events
focused on women from the Middle
East, Africa and Central Asia
overseen by the Institute of
International Education
Oct. 2015 Palo Alto, CA
CREATING THERANOS
Holmes life work in building Theranos, is to

redefine the paradigm of diagnosis away from
one in which people have to present with a
symptom in order to get access to information
about their bodies, to one in which every
person, no matter how much money they
have or where they live, has access to
actionable health information at the time it
matters.
CREATING THERANOS
Creating value by bridging people
and resources.
Access to health info a human right.
Founded Theranos
affordable testing for everyone.
simplified blood drawing method.
multiple locations.
Stand-alone clinics
Partnerships (Walgreens)
reciprocal value to Walgreens?

creating an efficient process.
CREATING THERANOS
we believe access to
actionable health
information is a basic
human right.
Elizabeth Holmes, CEO and
Founder
KEY VALUES DEFINE VISION

Holmes envisions a world in which
every person has access to actionable health information at the time it
matters
no one ever has to say if only I had known sooner
no one ever has to say goodbye too soon
every person knows how much a test they are paying for is going to cost
them before they get that test done
no one has to go through the pain of traditional phlebotomy
THERANOS VISION
to make actionable health information accessible to people
everywhere at the time it matters, enabling early detection
and intervention of disease, and empowering individuals with
information to live the lives they want to live.
VISION
The Nanotainer
Traditional Blood Samples
VISION
Elizabeths vision, manifest by transformational leadership, is strongest
among the Four Is (Idealized Influence, Inspirational Motivation,
Intellectual Stimulation, and Individualized Consideration) especially in
Idealized Influence.
This is primarily indicated by her actions encouraging women in developing
parts of the world to break glass ceilings as Margaret Thatcher inspired Iron
Ladies.
Vision held too lofty, however, can be blinding.

Several reviews of being an employee at Theranos indicated employees were
treated as assets/not people, there was extreme micromanagement, and as
one reviewer at www.glassdoor.com offered: Allow your employees to work
without inserting yourself into every single project; trust that they can do
what you have hired them for. Open your eyes and see how many good
people have quit and do something to fix the culture.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH
Theranos was built on the premise that they could test for a wide range of
medical conditions using very small volumes of blood collected from a
finger stick in nanotainers.
The tests are to be much less expensive than conventional lab tests and
available to patients without a doctor order.
The tests are completed much faster than conventional tests.
Theranos is currently valued at ~ $10 Billion.
The fundamental truth for Theranos is that they must prove its technology
is viable in a timely fashion and prove they are in fact a differentiated,
disruptive technology.
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH UNDER

ATTACK
The Wall Street Journal has launched a series of scathing
reports on Theranos technology.
Reported that 4 former anonymous employees have questioned
the viability of the technology and the accuracy of reported
results.
Argued Theranos misrepresents the number of tests conducted
on proprietary technology that have been validated.
Vast majority of the 240 tests offered at their Arizona lab are
conducted on commercial equipment purchased from Siemens
Theranos is vigorously defending against this attack.

All statements are true on the surface, but misrepresent
company vision.
Carreyrou, J., WSJ, http://www.wsj.com/articles/theranos-has-struggled-with-blood-tests-1444881901
LOSING SUPPORT
Early backer, Safeway, abandoned plans
to populate stores with Theranos clinics
after investing more than $350 million.
Two executives received alarming results that
later proved false.
Theranos consistently missed plan deadlines.
Had built clinics in 800 locations.
Walgreens is another major backer that

has halted plans to continue rolling out
Theranos locations beyond the current
41.
Shayon, S., http://www.brandchannel.com/2015/10/26/walgreens-theranos-102615/
DIFFERENTIATED TECHNOLOGY?
To support their fundamental truth,
Theranos must prove it has a
differentiated, disruptive technology.
Abott Laboratories i-Stat system is in use
in 1 of 3 hospitals in the US and can
identify 25 blood markers using 2-3 drops
of blood in 10 minutes.
Alere's epoc Blood Analysis system, which
received FDA clearance in 2006, requires
only 92 microliters of blood -- or about 2
drops -- and can measure 11 markers.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/10/30/theranos-groundbreaking-approach-isnt-breaking-much-new-ground/
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH:
CURRENT STATUS
Theranos proprietary finger stick blood draw into a nonotainer and the
associated proprietary analysis equipment is approved for exactly one test
HSV
Theranos has a firm stance that the FDA approval of their HSV test was simply
a vehicle to get certification of their technology as regulated medical
instrumentation.
They have stated that 120 additional diagnostic tests are in queue for FDA
approval in a streamlined process enabled by HSV vehicle strategy.
Only operating laboratory is in Arizona, though tests can be ordered through
CA Wallgreens.
Operation in Arizona required significant effort by Ms. Holmes to change
testing regulations.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/07/02/new-arizona-law-and-fda-approval-gives-theranos-something-to-celebrate/29634373/
UNICORN STATUS
Theranos is one of
Silicon Valleys most
famous unicornsan
unlisted startup valued
at over $1 billion.
Valuation is determined
almost solely by
venture capitalist
sentiment.
Is the quest for profit
ahead of technical
fundamentals?
FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH
When your aspirations are so disconnected from reality that even unicorns
dont do it for you anymore, this is a clear sign that youve been drinking
the Kool AidThis is why its so important for us to sniff out unicorns when
they make their way into our lives, and view them with the suspicion a
mythological beast deserves.
Mike Daisey
QUESTIONS
APPENDIX
WHO IS ELIZABETH HOLMES

When individuals have access to the
information about their bodies, they can
begin to change outcomes.

Elizabeth Holmes / Theranos

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Who is Elizabeth Holmes and what is her background?

Who is Elizabeth Holmes and what is her background?

What are Holmes' key values and leadership philosophy?

What are Holmes' key values and leadership philosophy?

ELIZABETH HOLMES

Founder and CEO of therenos

Holmes as a Global Leader

Wrap Up and Questions

WHO IS ELIZABETH HOLMES?

KEY VALUES AND PHILOSOPHY

Inspired by former Prime

Contributing to the global community.

Access to affordable blood tests.

Creating solutions that benefit

Despite accusations, presses on.

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP JOURNEY

Internship at the Genome Institute of

WHY A GLOBAL LEADER?

Holmes has a global mindset.

WHY A GLOBAL LEADER?

WHY A GLOBAL LEADER?

Partnering with Walgreens

U.S. Department of States

Oct. 2015 Palo Alto, CA

Holmes life work in building Theranos, is to

reciprocal value to Walgreens?

KEY VALUES DEFINE VISION

Traditional Blood Samples

Vision held too lofty, however, can be blinding.

FUNDAMENTAL TRUTH UNDER

Theranos is vigorously defending against this attack.

Walgreens is another major backer that

WHO IS ELIZABETH HOLMES

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