Transform it till it survives. That seems to be the meme of 23andMe’s CEO/founder Anne Wojcicki in a “CBS Mornings” ‘exclusive’ with co-host Gayle King. Dropping on 27 November (Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving), the 10-minute segment was primarily a pre-recorded eight-minute interview done in a ‘living room’ setting earlier with an introduction and closing commentary with two others. For a non-business interviewer, King directed it better than expected, though the context was soft, with an intro and early questioning that focused on the company’s problems and a Fortune article (more below), then moving towards the end to Wojcicki’s family and personal challenges this year.
Wojcicki believes that the company is ‘viable’ and ‘transforming’ under her. King redirected Wojcicki from her initial corporate boilerplate-speak twice within the first few minutes back to the troubles of the company, including “How does a company survive when it’s lost 98% of its value though?” The answer was rather pat: “We absolutely are in a situation where we’re figuring out cash burn and we’re looking at all the ways that we’re gonna drive revenue growth.” which is about as much as a CEO and controlling shareholder would want to say about a public company potentially facing shareholder lawsuits.
King touched on the instances of last year’s massive data breach [TTA 19 Jan, 2 Feb], the layoff in November of 40% of its remaining workforce [TTA 14 Nov], and the entire resignation of the board [TTA 17 Sept]. This last elicited the surprising revelation that Wojcicki had “no idea why her board resigned” nor “great insights into what the strategic differences were” or that “there was not an overt disagreement.” King did not drill down into that brace of amazing statements about a hand-picked board of a public company during a financial crisis, trying to decide on a course of action whether to sell or go private. She also did not address the role that the data breach and 23andMe’s widely derided treatment of their customers had in precipitating the company’s decline.
Regarding content in the generally negative Fortune article from October, Wojcicki rebutted the former employees’ view that all decisions ran through her and that she was “outwardly charming, but stubborn and controlling behind the scenes.” saying that ‘”I love getting feedback” and that she encouraged everyone to voice their opinions and share suggestions, which is not quite the same as a collaborative management style or delegation. To her, her vision was centered on using genetic data for consumer empowerment, research, and discovery. Unfortunately, the company moved away from the consumer part which remained largely one-off testing, despite the late adoption of a subscription model and refocusing on consumer products such as GLP-1 drugs. The corporate focus became drug discovery and development (closed) and the GSK data (ended).
To Wojcicki, the closures and layoffs are justified in what she envisions as the ultimate transformation of the company, her new mantra. King closed by asking her about her one and five-year predictions for the company. At one year, Wojcicki without blinking and with a small smile said that 23andMe would be “thriving”. Five years? With a large, confident, and convincing smile, with clasped hands, Wojcicki said it would be “transforming healthcare”. This Editor has heard that song before.
Most Recent Comments