Theranos Is Getting Rid of High-Profile Board Members Including Henry Kissinger and George Shultz In 2017, the company said, the board of counselors will be retired.

By Lydia Ramsey

entrepreneur daily

This story originally appeared on Business Insider

Larry Busacca/Getty via Business Insider
Elizabeth Holmes

Theranos is making a huge change to its leadership.

In 2017, the company said, the board of counselors will be retired. The board of counselors consisted mostly of former directors with strong government connections but little scientific experience, such as Henry Kissinger and George Shultz, and it served as an advisory board to the company's founder, Elizabeth Holmes.

James Mattis, a retired Marine general who is President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of defense, will stay on the company's board of directors.

Theranos also announced that Riley Bechtel, who sat on the board of directors, would also be departing immediately, citing health issues. On Monday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Bechtel had invested in Theranos, which hadn't been publicly disclosed.

When the blood-testing company was first facing major criticism over its technology in October 2015, one of the problems cited was that its board of directors included few professionals with science credentials. To counter that, Theranos moved many of those members onto a board of counselors and later made a scientific and medical advisory board.

The members of the board of counselors are among some of the highest-profile names supporting Theranos and Holmes, who is the company's CEO.

Among those who will no longer be with the company:

  • Henry A. Kissinger -- former U.S. secretary of state
  • William H. Frist -- heart and lung transplant surgeon and former U.S. senator
  • Sam Nunn -- former U.S. senator who served as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
  • William J. Perry -- former U.S. secretary of defense
  • George P. Shultz -- former U.S. secretary of state
  • Gary Roughead -- retired U.S. Navy admiral

Here's Theranos' current board of directors, including Daniel Warmenhoven, who will be replacing Bechtel.

  • Elizabeth Holmes -- CEO and chairman of the board of Theranos
  • James N. Mattis -- retired U.S. Marine Corps general and President-elect Donald Trump's pick for secretary of defense
  • David Boies -- lawyer and chairman of Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP, who until November, The Journal reports, Theranos had used for legal work as well
  • Daniel Warmenhoven -- former CEO at NetApp
  • William H. Foege -- former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  • Richard Kovacevich -- former CEO of Wells Fargo
  • Fabrizio Bonanni -- former executive vice president at the biopharmaceutical company Amgen
Lydia Ramsey

Reporter

Lydia is a reporter for Business Insider, covering the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Side Hustle

I Started a Semi-Passive Side Hustle That Earns $33,000 a Week on Amazon: 'Selling There Is a No-Brainer'

Dr. Jenny Woo wanted to create a product that would help people connect, and it turned out to be a lucrative one.

Business News

Compass Agrees to Pay $57.5 Million to Settle Real Estate Commissions Lawsuits

The class action lawsuits accused Compass of violating antitrust law and conspiring to overcharge U.S. home sellers.

Business News

Jerry Seinfeld Is Now Reportedly a Billionaire — Here's Where His Wealth Comes From

Seinfeld also boasts an impressive real estate portfolio.

Business News

X Is Losing Users and Struggling to Attract Creators, According to New Data

The company, which is owned by Elon Musk, says that 1.7 million people join the platform every day.

Business Ideas

63 Small Business Ideas to Start in 2024

We put together a list of the best, most profitable small business ideas for entrepreneurs to pursue in 2024.