For Tom Hale, CEO of Oura, the Finnish smart-ring company, the “right” role was worth waiting for. After graduating from Harvard, Hale took senior positions at some of the world’s most exciting tech companies, including Macromedia, which was acquired by Adobe in 2005. He then served as chief operations officer at HomeAway, a travel company, before spending five years as president of Momentive AI. But when the chief executive role opened at Oura, Hale knew that the right role had finally come.
The first Oura smart ring was released in 2015, with the goal of transforming how people understand their sleep. Since then, the company has expanded its focus to human health more broadly. Its rings now track everything from users’ blood glucose to fertility. And, according to Hale, it’s just getting started.
Did you always want to be a CEO?
I set my sights on that goal in my late 20s. Once I started in business, it was clear that I wanted to see if I could reach the top.
I’ve always associated the idea of work with doing something meaningful; something that makes an impact on the world. Steve Jobs called it “making a dent in the universe”.
Maybe this is a sign of self-importance, but I’ve always believed that I could be part of something important and influential. Being able to both steer and lead something impactful was what drove me.
At the dawn of the internet I worked at a company that was very foundational. We were enabling more people to publish information more information than ever before, and the idea that we could have an impact on people’s ability to express themselves was just intoxicating. At that point, I thought, “Wow, this technology stuff is like catnip and I want to lead a technology company.”
What do you think makes a good leader?
Throughout my career, I’ve been very intentional about studying different kinds of CEOs. I got some chances to interact with Steve Jobs, I worked Rob Burgess, who was the CEO of Macromedia, where I started my career, and with Stephen Elop who became the CEO of Nokia.
The first lesson I learned from these CEOs is that, actually, it’s not about you. ‘Servant leadership’ means being at the service of your employees, your customers and your board.
The second thing is the importance of humanity. Sometimes people put CEOs on a pedestal, but the reality is they’re just humans. As a CEO, you have to remember your own humanity and, when people interact with you, you have to find a way to make a human connection. Leadership, in so many ways, is not about the leader it’s about the follower.
The third lesson is that you have to put the customer at the centre of your thinking. You’ll do a better job if you’re constantly working to understand and appreciate of the needs of your customers – or at least you’ll have a better chance serving them effectively. And so, every Thursday, I make a point of interacting with customers, which helps me to understand their needs and sets an example for others in the company.
How have you shaped the culture at Oura?
Feedback suggests that people really appreciate that I’m accessible – that I walk around and talk to people. I hold office hours every month where people can ask me literally any question and I’ll give them an answer.
We have a hybrid Finnish and American culture. American culture is highly optimistic – the attitude is, “We can do it, it’s all going to be great!” Finnish culture, however, formed by 2,000 years of being pushed around by Russia and Sweden, so the Finns are kind of cynical about people.
We’ve blended those two things. It’s important to connect with the culture of the people you’re leading, but also to shape it a little bit. I’m not going to make Finns into over-enthusiastic Americans, but, at the same time, I can bring some of that excitement myself. I am an excitable person who believes that we can make a huge dent in the universe.
What are you looking for when you hire a leadership team?
Obviously I’m looking for skills and reasonable evidence that the person can do the job better than someone else – that’s really important. But I also look for hunger. Are they passionate and driven by what’s in front of them? In my experience, if someone’s connected to what they’re doing and they’re moved by it and hungry for success, they’ll do better than somebody who might be more skilled, but doesn’t have that same passion and ambition.
I’m also looking for people who are mission-driven. We’re a company that sees itself as a force for good in the world, working to improve the human palliative lifespan on the planet. That mission means a lot. But I don’t necessarily have to filter for that, because if someone gets to me, they’ve got that mission. Being the most skilled person is not enough if you don’t have that motivation.
What is the best bit of business advice you’ve ever been given?
In my early 30s, I was starting to be offered CEO jobs in Silicon Valley and I was talking to my mentor who had been a CEO. His advice was, “Don’t rush it, make sure you wait to get the right job for you and that you pick the right company.” That really stuck with me.
Throughout my career, I’ve had a range of opportunities presented to me. But the role at Oura was the one I felt was exactly right. It suited me – my skills, my passions, my interests, my desire to make an impact on the world of human health. It was a perfect fit.
It’s also good advice because no one is looking at a second-time CEO if they failed in their first CEO role. If you’re going to take the job, make sure you have a pretty good chance of success because a ‘used CEO’ is not a hot commodity.
What is the biggest driver of change in your business?
Consumer behaviour. It’s about people becoming the CEO of their own health. Patriarchy in medicine is dead. We don’t tell you what to do, we give you the information and you decide what to do with it.
Covid knocked the cover off the healthcare system, because everybody had a global health crisis more or less at the same time and was looking for information. People are becoming more scientifically literate. The medical-grade consumer technologies that are now available can give them information they couldn’t access before.
The idea that you should have agency in your health and control over it – that you’re not just waiting for the doctor to tell you what to do – is the consumerisation of health. The choices you make every day – whether you get enough sleep, whether you eat healthily, whether you exercise – are the determinants of your health. Monitor your body and listen to it. If your body’s telling you something’s wrong, you probably should be seeing a doctor. But a lot of people don’t do this, for whatever reason.
What’s been your proudest achievement in your current role?
There’s no question: it’s this team that I put together. I’ve assembled maybe the best team I’ve ever worked with in my entire career. In an Ocean’s 11 sort of way, they’ve all got these amazing individual skills that I envy.
What book do you think every business leader should read at least once?
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t by Jim Collins.
He talks about this idea of servant leadership and explores what makes durable value. If you look at the stock prices of high-performing companies over a long period of time, you see their ability to reinvent themselves and maintain a core strategic or competitive advantage.
He also talks about the concept of a “hedgehog strategy” – a strategy that is totally defensible. No one can ever mess with a hedgehog. If you’ve got a hedgehog strategy, you’ll build something that lasts. A lot of people can make good companies. But, according to Collins, to make a great company you need strong leadership.
What is one piece of advice you would give to your successor?
Make sure you ask yourself, “How can I align my beliefs and values with long-term satisfaction?” Life is filled with choices, but you know the ones that matter. They don’t come along that often. The Ouras of the world are once-in-a-generation companies and if I’d taken some other job six months before I found it, I would have missed that perfect fit – so be patient.
For Tom Hale, CEO of Oura, the Finnish smart-ring company, the "right" role was worth waiting for. After graduating from Harvard, Hale took senior positions at some of the world's most exciting tech companies, including Macromedia, which was acquired by Adobe in 2005. He then served as chief operations officer at HomeAway, a travel company, before spending five years as president of Momentive AI. But when the chief executive role opened at Oura, Hale knew that the right role had finally come.
The first Oura smart ring was released in 2015, with the goal of transforming how people understand their sleep. Since then, the company has expanded its focus to human health more broadly. Its rings now track everything from users' blood glucose to fertility. And, according to Hale, it’s just getting started.
