Elizabeth Holmes’ Theranos Corporate Cult with Dr. Dennis Tourish

Elizabeth Holmes was once the youngest female billionaire in the history of Wall Street. In 2003, she founded and, as CEO, ran a corporation called Theranos. Her company claimed to be able to help diagnose health issues from merely a pinprick of blood. The company raised over 700 million dollars in pursuit of this dream. Ultimately, she was convicted of fraud and sentenced to 11 years in jail.  Currently serving as a Professor of Leadership and Organization Studies at the University of Sussex Business School, Dr. Tourish offers a wealth of insights. He has published a blog on Theranos, which shows that it had much in common with organizations we usually consider to be cults. 

Dr. Dennis Tourish, formerly involved in a left-wing political cult during the 70s and 80s, has been a frequent guest in my discussions about the perils of authoritarianism in political and corporate contexts. He has written numerous books and papers on dysfunctional leadership styles and political cults, including The Dark Side of Transformational Leadership: A Critical Perspective and Management Studies in Crisis: Fraud, Deception and Meaningless Research.