Joe Kiani has spent much of his life looking for better ways to solve big problems. From saving lives in hospitals to advancing diabetes care and restoring local land, the California–based entrepreneur has set a solid track record for tackling challenges that reach far beyond the walls of his companies.
From Innovation to Impact
Kiani first gained recognition as the founder and CEO of Masimo, a medical technology company known for developing pulse oximetry devices that help clinicians monitor oxygen levels in patients. The innovation has been credited with improving hospital safety and outcomes worldwide.
But for Kiani, invention alone wasn’t enough. After years of working within the healthcare system, he saw how communication gaps and fragmented data could lead to errors and sometimes, preventable deaths. That realization inspired him to start the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, a nonprofit focused on eliminating preventable deaths in hospitals.
The foundation brings together healthcare leaders, clinicians, and policymakers to improve transparency and collaboration.
“Too many lives are lost every year to preventable medical errors and delayed access to care. Patients deserve better, and that starts with holding systems accountable. We must push for policies that put patients before profits and make life-saving care accessible, timely, and transparent for all,” added Kiani.
Expanding the Vision: Diabetes and Health Equity
In recent years, in addition to taking the role of CEO at Like Minded Labs, Kiani has expanded his focus to broader public health issues, including diabetes, a condition that affects millions of Americans and disproportionately impacts communities with fewer healthcare resources.
Through Willow Laboratories’ Nutu app, Kiani is exploring ways to make health management more intuitive and less isolating. The app’s core feature, the “Nutu Score,” is a personalized daily measure of health balance based on nutrition, activity, sleep, and biometric data, designed to help people gauge and improve their lifestyle in manageable steps.
Kiani often talks about the importance of empathy in innovation, that solutions should fit into people’s lives, not force them to reshape their lives around the solution. Through Nutu, he’s backing that principle with a platform aimed at helping people stay healthier, longer, with dignity and consistency.
Stewardship Close to Home
For all his technological work, one of Kiani’s most personal projects is much closer to the earth. Nestled into the Figueroa Highlands high above the Santa Ynez Valley Floor, he’s restoring land through an effort known as the Kiani Preserve. The property focuses on regenerative farming, wine making, habitat conservation, and sustainable land management practices.
the preserve serves as a living example of balance, between productivity and preservation, between innovation and respect for nature. The project reflects Kiani’s belief that caring for people and the planet go hand in hand.
A Grounded Approach to Progress
Kiani’s career has spanned industries, healthcare technology, nonprofit advocacy, and environmental stewardship, but his motivation has remained consistent: to use innovation for good, and to ensure progress benefits more than the bottom line.
In a state often defined by ambition, Kiani’s work stands out for its sense of responsibility. Whether in a hospital ward, a research lab, or a stretch of restored California soil, his projects reflect a simple idea, that technology and compassion can, and should, move forward together.
Copyright © 2025 California Business Journal. All Rights Reserved.
For California Business Journal Disclaimers, go to /terms-conditions/.
