A Sensational Launch for BASF’s Distinguished Speakers’ Series

"The kickoff event for the Distinguished Speakers’ Series presented by BASF & JDC needed to be “super-compelling,” says BASF President Teresa Johnson, and it delivered. “Advocating for the Truth at Theranos” featured whistleblower Tyler Shultz and his attorney, Constantine Cannon Partner Mary Inman, as they shared their experiences inside one of the most sensational fraud cases of the Digital Age.

Shultz, now co-founder of Flux Biosciences, was just 22 years old and a recent college graduate when he was hired as a research engineer at Theranos. “I thought I’d work there my entire career,” Shultz told the crowd of BASF members, law students, and guests. He was dedicated to and inspired by the promise that the company’s innovative technology would revolutionize the healthcare industry through the development of blood-testing devices that could detect a long list of diseases. But Shultz soon learned about the “open secret” that the technology did not exist.

Meanwhile, investors, business partners, and the general public continued to be dazzled by Theranos’s young, compelling, and charismatic CEO, Elizabeth Holmes. The Stanford dropout was lauded on magazine covers and compared to Steve Jobs. She won the trust and admiration of a stellar board of directors, including the late George Shultz, US Secretary of State under President Ronald Reagan (and Tyler Shultz’s grandfather). In 2014, the company was valued at over a billion dollars, mostly from private investors.

But Shultz experienced a corporate culture behind the curtain built on intimidation as well as the unrealistic hope that the next iteration of the technology would propel the company to an “Apple of healthcare” status. “I tried to put my head down and ignore it [the fraud],” Shultz said, while recognizing coworkers didn’t speak up because they had families and mortgages and didn’t want to jeopardize their careers. “Why did you speak up?” Kelly Dermody, former BASF president and the event’s moderator, asked. Because he couldn’t sleep, he said. “We’re hurting people,” he realized, by providing false diagnoses and empty promises, and he made the decision to do something. “I didn’t know what I was getting into,” he said, and described himself at the time as “incredibly naïve…arrogant, ignorant, reckless,” all gifts of youth that ultimately positioned him to take on the risks of becoming a whistleblower.

In 2015, Shultz worked with investigative reporter John Carryrou to expose the truth—and untruths—behind the power of Theranos in a series of articles for The Wall Street Journal. Carryrou’s book Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup was released in May 2018, and the company closed in September of that year. In January 2022, Holmes was convicted of fraud and conspiracy and sentenced to 11 years and three months in federal prison. She began serving her sentence in May 2023. In a separate trial, Theranos President Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani was convicted and sentenced to 12 years and 11 months. (Learn more in this article from NPR.)

“It felt like a fireside-style chat.”

While many of the details of this story could be picked up from media outlets, Carryrou’s book, and the 2022 miniseries The Dropout (a movie version of Bad Blood is in pre-production), what set the February 27 event apart was that it felt to one attendee “like a fireside-style chat.” The evening included the panel discussion, audience Q&As, and onsite networking following the program.

Even the spectacular city views from the conference room at UC Law School San Francisco couldn’t distract from the intimate and in-depth conversation taking place as the panelists dug into legal ethics, the impact of power plus privilege, the protections and awards offered by the US SEC Office of the Whistleblower, and other topics of special interest to attorneys. Several attendees were impressed by the relevance of the night’s topics as we grapple with ethics issues in a time of rapid technological innovation. Others mentioned they were moved hearing how a front-page news story impacted a real person.

Shultz thought he was being scammed when Inman, who has a roster of international whistleblower clients, first contacted him and suggested he could receive 30% of what the SEC collected. By the time Inman heard about his story and reached out to him, Shultz was enduring harassment from opposing attorneys and was well aware that whistleblowers ran the risk of losing their livelihoods. He and his parents faced $400,000 to $500,000 out-of-pocket fees for IP, defamation, litigation, employment, and whistleblower attorneys. He was also starting to feel discouraged. “It felt like the truth didn’t matter,” he said, that “whoever spent the most money would win.”

In this case, as we know, power did not win over truth.

Truth & Power

“Truth & Power” is the overarching theme for the series, which is Johnson’s President’s Project. Three additional live, in-person events are planned for this year, at different venues, and participants at this first event shared they were intrigued and enthusiastic about coming to future events. MCLE credits can be earned at each, and possible topics include social justice, the inevitable integration of AI, attacks on the justice system, free speech, fair and equitable elections, and post-truth and the media. “We see BASF as a convenor and thought-leader,” said BASF Communications Manager David Coy, “and we want to engage the public on issues that affect the legal community and everyone else.”

The speakers, by the way, are not being sourced through an agency or speakers’ bureau. Instead, Johnson drew from her personal network. “These are people Terry knows,” said Coy, and we all benefit from her gifts for connecting with people who have great stories to tell. “It’s all Terry, we’re excited to execute her vision.” said Coy, praising Johnson for her choice of President’s Project and her efforts to see it succeed.

At the heart of Johnson’s intentions for the series is bringing people back together. “We’re coming out of COVID. We’re back in person and collectively remembering what’s so great about our city and our BASF community,” she said. “I hope this series will get our community more engaged with each other.”

The first event clearly achieved these objectives. No doubt this President’s Project will exceed Johnson’s expectations.

The next Truth and Power event will take place at Lyft and will feature an engaging conversation with President and CEO Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Maya Wiley and Twitter Whistleblower and Senior Fellow at Columbia Journalism School Anika Collier Navaroli. Admission is free but space is limited so get your tickets today.