Early Life
Joe Kiani was born in Shiraz, Iran, on September 16, 1964. At age nine, he immigrated to the United States with his family, speaking only a few words of English. Despite this challenge, he excelled in his studies, graduating high school at fifteen. His father was an engineer, and his mother was a nurse.
Education and Early Career
Kiani attended San Diego State University (SDSU), earning bachelor's and master's degrees in electrical engineering by the age of 22. He worked as a CO-OP engineer at Burroughs, which later became Unisys, starting in 1984. Kiani then worked at Bell Industries and Anthem before consulting for Newport Medical Electronics in 1988.
Rise to Success with Masimo
In 1989, Kiani founded Masimo. He is the co-inventor of modern pulse oximetry. His innovation overcame the unreliability of traditional pulse oximetry. Masimo SET® helped reduce false alarms by 95% and improved the reliability of the "fifth vital sign". Kiani led Masimo to become a global leader in medical technology, employing over 8,000 people worldwide. In 2022, Kiani led Masimo to purchase Sound United. In September 2024, Kiani resigned as CEO of Masimo after activist shareholders won a proxy fight.
Key Business Strategies
Kiani focused on developing and manufacturing noninvasive patient monitoring technologies. Masimo's success is attributed to its innovative Masimo SET® pulse oximetry technology, used in hospitals globally. Kiani holds more than 500 patents. He led Masimo's expansion into consumer electronics with the acquisition of Sound United.
Philanthropy
Kiani founded the Patient Safety Movement Foundation in 2012 to reduce preventable hospital deaths. The Masimo Foundation of Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare has provided support for the Patient Safety Movement Foundation.
