Silicon Valley Wonders 11: The Old Men Behind the Female CEO

As the saying goes, behind a successful man, there must be a woman who pays silently. And behind a successful woman, there is also a man who supports her.

Here in Theranos' female boss Holmes, this sentence should be changed to read that behind a woman who made her fortune by cheating and cheating, there must be a group of rich and powerful old men who are double-handed. Holmes has been throughout Silicon Valley for 15 years, and the old men she cheated on or used include:

Renowned Stanford Professor Channing Robertson. Holmes took the old man's freshman chemistry class and then helped out in his lab. After she wrote her patent application, the first person she looked for was Robertson. The professor greatly appreciated Holmes's talent and encouraged her to pursue her dream of starting her own medical company.

Of course, the old man didn't seriously consider the feasibility of the Holmes patent. He recommended his PhD student to Holmes, helped her with research and development, and then became a consultant himself, but actually ignored the company's specific affairs. I believe Holmes paid him handsomely, and he has always defended his students. Even after the counterfeiting scandal broke out, he was convinced that Holmes was a genius and that Theranos' technology was real.

Veteran Silicon Valley investor Don Lucas. This old man became famous in Silicon Valley very early because he single-handedly supported Oracle and was the chairman of the company's board of directors. Oracle founder and CEO Larry Ellison is his proud protégé.

The old man, who was in his 70s when he met Holmes, regarded her as his granddaughter and identified her as a second Ellison or Steve Jobs. Moreover, he introduced Ellison to Holmes and asked Ellison to be Theranos' advisor, Holmes's mentor.

When Holmes tried to weaken the power of the board of directors and take full control of the company, he, as chairman of the board, was completely on her side. Some shareholders expressed dissatisfaction with Holmes's behavior, and he also wanted to help Holmes settle down. Even though Holmes was cheating on the company's finances and was about to be removed, he eventually believed her and asked her to continue as CEO.

The old man later got Alzheimer's disease. His son, Don Lucas Jr., inherited his father's business and ran his own venture capital firm. In order to thank Holmes for his respect for his father, he decided to continue to invest in Theranos, and encouraged his friends to invest together and spend the money.

U.S. pharmacy chain giant Walgreen executive Dr. J。 The old man himself was a doctor, and supposedly could see through Holmes's deception. However, he himself was too superstitious about health and wellness, and Theranos' so-called "advanced" blood testing technology coincided with his. So, he abandoned the rigor of the doctor and the shrewdness of the businessman and planted it wholeheartedly.

The most exaggerated thing is that his men have realized the problem and constantly reflected to him, but he still turns a blind eye and does not hear, and signs a large contract with Holmes for tens of millions of dollars. He then, despite Theranos' constant delays, he had Walgreen pay out of his own pocket and spend hundreds of millions of dollars to build the Theranos Blood Test Center. The consequence is that a large number of patients are misdiagnosed and their health is damaged. In the end, Walgreen took Theranos to court and then settled out of court.

Steve Burd, CEO of American supermarket chain giant Safeway. This old man and Dr. J's problem is the same, excessive pursuit of health and longevity, confusing his hobbies with the future of the company. He insists that Theranos' blood test technology allows the company to open up markets and increase revenue. It doesn't matter if this technology really exists.

As a result, the tens of millions of dollars of large orders were signed, but Theranos was delayed again and again, unable to provide technology. In the end, Steve Burd was ousted, and Theranos' project had not yet begun. The new CEO immediately decided to terminate the cooperation with Theranos, completely saving Safeway's money and face.

U.S. Marine Corps General and former Secretary of Defense James Mattis. The old man was a tough guy who said nothing in the army. Mattis cherished the lives of his soldiers and looked for ways to reduce the casualties of his men. It also made him too gullible to Holmes, and he was immediately fooled by her rhetoric.

Even when his men reported problems to him, the old general never suspected Holmes and paved the way for her to do projects in the army. After his retirement, he joined Theranos' board of directors and continued to support the company's growth. I can only say that the love of soldiers and the lack of understanding of medicine have made his IQ offline. However, the scandal did not affect his career. Soon after Trump took office, he was appointed defense secretary.

Former U.S. Secretaries of State George Schultz and Kissinger. Schultz was almost 90 years old when he joined Theranos' board. He also introduced his grandson to work with Holmes, which was really a sacrifice for himself and his children. For some reason, he was so partial to Holmes that he even fell out with his grandson and did not interact with him.

But his grandson was a model young man who not only resigned after seeing through Theranos' scam, but also bravely became a "whistleblower" to expose the company's scam to the Wall Street Journal reporter. I once watched his interviews. The young man is very talkative and upright, which can only be described as handsome.

David Boies, a well-known American lawyer. This old fox and Holmes can be said to be using each other. Holmes bribed Boies first with money and then with his position as chairman of the board. Boies, on the other hand, takes money from people, eliminates disasters for people, and helps Holmes try to cover up the company's fraud.

Boies himself is a first-class lawyer and is not a good person. To win the case, he can hire private investigators to follow and monitor witnesses and defendants, and he can also send dog legs to threaten and intimidate. These white terror tactics forged his gold medal status in the American legal profession.

Unfortunately, not everyone eats his set. The head of chemistry at Theranos, Schultz's grandson, and other "whistleblowers" were all pushed by him to report Theranos and Holmes in a fit of rage, leaving them unable to eat and go. Arguably, Boies' actions hastened the fall of Theranos.

News crocodile Murdoch. The old man was the last investor to be deceived. He had a good impression of Holmes and was recommended by acquaintances, so he invested more than $100 million in Theranos. However, he did not pay attention to this little money, nor did he change the principle of human behavior in the world.

Although News Corp bought the Wall Street Journal, Murdoch refused to interfere in the newspaper's work. This allowed the reporter's secret article to be published smoothly. After the scandal broke, he only calmly sold the Theranos shares back to Holmes at a low price as a tax deduction. Maybe the old man was in his eighties, and he had seen a lot of wind and waves, and he didn't treat Theranos properly, nor did he want to take Holmes to court like the others did. This "Buddhist" style of doing things is indeed superior.

These eight old men, each of them in their own field. However, after meeting Holmes, he was either seduced by her or lustful, and ended up on Theranos' thief ship. Sadly, some people are still obsessed with defending Holmes after her scam was exposed.

The Wall Street Journal reporter said it best: Holmes is smart, confident, charismatic, but unfortunately has an antisocial personality. In order to achieve her own selfish desires, she can ignore her conscience, ignore ethics and morality, and play with the people she wants to use.

Maybe she started Theranos in the first place, not trying to deceive these shareholders and harm so many patients. But she wanted to stay famous in qingshi too much and become the second Jobs, so she always chose to cut a short path, make quick money, cheat, and finally embarked on the road of no return.

Hopefully, she will get the punishment she deserves, and hopefully the Theranos scandal will serve as a warning to those who come after silicon valley. Before the next boast about Haikou, all entrepreneurial elites should ask themselves whether they are joking about the health and life of users.

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