Even after federal investigators began looking into the blood testing startup Theranos, the company's founder and CEO, Elizabeth Holmes, reportedly believed she could save the firm from completely failing.
Vanity Fair's Nick Bilton, who has been reporting on the Theranos scandal for the past few years, spoke with several sources about Theranos' final days and Ms. Holmes' refusal to acknowledge the company's financial and legal issues.
Six takeaways from the report:
1. By September 2017, Theranos had been sued by its investors, had its partnership with Walgreens terminated and had dozens of law firms on retainer to help dig the company out of mounting legal and financial issues. But Ms. Holmes reportedly had a plan to spark the company's redemption, and the plan included adopting a dog, according to Mr. Bilton.
2. Ms. Holmes' Siberian husky Balto, named after a heroic sled dog, represented the redemption arc she wanted to mirror for Theranos. Sources who worked at Theranos at the time told Mr. Bilton that Ms. Holmes would let the dog stroll through the companies' labs, despite protests from scientists who said the animal could contaminate blood samples, and "frequently urinated and defecated at will throughout Theranos headquarters."
3. Despite the company's troubles, Ms. Holmes reportedly would not give up her luxury lifestyle, continuing to use a private jet and travel with security detail, drivers, personal assistants and a publicist, two former executives told Mr. Bilton. The company also paid all of her legal bills, as well as those of Theranos' former COO Ramesh Balwani.
4. Former Theranos employees also said Ms. Holmes often appeared happy and acted as if nothing was wrong at the company.
5. After Wall Street Journal reporter John Carreyrou reported that Theranos was being investigated by federal officials, board members suggested Ms. Holmes take a blood test using the company's machine and compare the results with those from two competing labs. Ms. Holmes reportedly agreed to take the test, but refused to share the results with board members, according to the report.
"The company is falling apart, there are countless indictments piling up, employees are leaving in droves, and Elizabeth is just weirdly chipper," one former senior executive told Mr. Bilton.
6. Ms. Holmes has been charged with at least 11 criminal felony counts and faces up to 20 years in prison. The company shuttered in September 2018. Ms. Holmes and Mr. Balwani have repeatedly claimed that the charges against them are baseless. When asked if Ms. Holmes has ever expressed remorse for her or the company's actions, an executive told Mr. Bilton that she "sees herself as the victim."
"She blames John Carreyrou, she blames [her lawyer] David Boies, and she blames [Theranos' general counsel] Heather King," the individual said, adding that she blames them for their inability to contain the bad press and for providing her with bad legal advice.
To access the full report, click here.