California State University San Diego
Joe Kiani saves lives. In 2012, as founder of the Patient Safety Movement Foundation, he launched a mission to drastically reduce the number of preventable deaths caused by medical errors in U.S. hospitals, which is estimated to claim the lives of more than 200,000 patients annually. Medical errors are the 3rd leading cause of death in the U.S. The movement soon became global, with more than 109 countries joining the movement. The organization’s goal is zero preventable patient deaths by 2030 by promoting transparency and implementing Actionable Patient Safety Solutions. In 2013, Mr. Kiani appeared before the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and outlined five steps to help eradicate preventable patient deaths. He is well-recognized as a national and global leader in this area.
Mr. Kiani is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Masimo, a global leader in differentiated medical technology that focuses on developing and manufacturing noninvasive medical monitoring technologies in both the professional and consumer health marketplaces. Masimo’s pulse oximetry technology, such as the Masimo Signal Extraction Technology® (SET®), has been the cornerstone technology of the company, which has more than 800 patents. Mr. Kiani is listed as an inventor on over 500 patents or patent applications for medical and wearable technologies. The company employs more than 8,000 people worldwide.
His philosophy has always been to focus on saving lives. The Masimo Foundation of Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare has provided considerable support for the Patient Safety Movement Foundation. As a result of Mr. Kiani’s leadership, these initiatives have profoundly advanced the creation of a culture of safety in health care facilities in the United States and around the world. For these efforts, he was named an honorary member of The Mexican Academy of Surgeons (Academia Mexicana de Cirugía A.C.), an advisory body of the Mexican federal government. Becker’s Hospital Review has named him one of “50 Experts Leading the Field of Patient Safety” repeatedly, and he is the only patient safety expert who is also a chief executive officer of a medical technology company.
Joe Kiani is also the founder of Cercacor, a health and wellness innovation company that produces noninvasive medical technology, including Ember®, a Hemoglobin tracker for athletes.
Mr. Kiani has been a longtime member of the San Diego State College of Engineering Advisory Board, a $100,000 donor to the Digital Signal Processing program in honor of his faculty mentor, Fred Harris, and a recipient of San Diego State’s Distinguished Alumni Award. He received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from San Diego State in electrical engineering. Mr. Kiani holds an Honorary Doctorate of Science degree from Chapman University.
Joe Kiani serves on many academic and philanthropic boards, including the Clinton Foundation Executive Council and the University of California at Irvine (UCI) Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences Advisory Board.
In recognition of his innovative achievements and generous philanthropy in support of health, safety and education, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and San Diego State University are proud to confer upon Joe E.Kiani the honorary degree of Doctor of Science.