Early Life
Joe Kiani was born Massi Joseph E. Kiani in Shiraz, Iran, on September 16, 1964. At the age of nine, Kiani immigrated to the United States with his family. He displayed exceptional academic abilities, graduating from high school at the age of fifteen.
Education and Early Career
Kiani attended San Diego State University (SDSU), earning Bachelor of Science (B.S.E.E) and Master of Science (M.S.E.E) degrees in electrical engineering by the age of 22. During this time, he worked as a CO-OP engineer at Burroughs (later Unisys) and at Anthem Electronics.
Rise to Success at Masimo
In 1989, Kiani founded Masimo, a medical technology company. He invented measures through motion and low perfusion pulse oximetry, inventing the Masimo Signal Extraction Technology (SET). Masimo's technology has been shown to outperform other pulse oximetry technologies in numerous independent studies, and is used to monitor over 200 million patients annually. Kiani served as CEO and chairman of Masimo for over three decades.
Key Business Strategies
Masimo focused on developing and commercializing innovative noninvasive patient monitoring technologies, including pulse oximetry and other devices. The company holds over 500 patents for advanced signal processing, optical sensors, and wearable technologies. Masimo went public in 2007. In 2022, Masimo acquired Sound United, which owns speaker and headphone brands.
Philanthropy
In 2010, Kiani and Masimo provided $10 million in funding to create the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation, and Competition in Healthcare, which supports activities that improve patient safety. In 2012, Kiani founded the Patient Safety Movement Foundation. In 2020, the Patient Safety Movement Foundation was awarded a $5 million five-year grant from the Masimo Foundation.
