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Elizabeth Holmes- Case Archive
personpersonNimesh JhaveriNimesh JhaveriFormer Walgreens executive who managed the company's Theranos pilot and expansion planning.← All People
WitnessWalgreens

Nimesh Jhaveri

Former Walgreens executive who managed the company's Theranos pilot and expansion planning.

AppearedFederal Criminal Trial
646 lines·12 proceedings·8 mentions

About

Nimesh Jhaveri testified for the prosecution about his responsibility for implementing Walgreens's Theranos partnership beginning in 2014. He described the measures Walgreens used to evaluate the pilot, including venous-draw rates, patient volume, wait times, satisfaction, staffing, and cost. Fingerstick collection formed the patient experience Walgreens expected.

Jhaveri attributed increasingly favorable venous-draw projections to Ramesh Balwani but testified that the projected levels were not achieved and that the rate remained near 40 percent in November 2014. He said Walgreens understood that fingerstick samples would be tested on Theranos devices, did not know about modified third-party analyzers, and sought more financial and technological transparency. He also described expansion as conditional: a planning goal declined from 500 stores to 200, services ultimately reached 41 Walgreens locations, and Walgreens stopped offering them during 2016.

On cross-examination, the defense examined the absence of guaranteed expansion, favorable patient surveys, and Jhaveri's complimentary communications. Jhaveri clarified on redirect that patients completed the surveys before receiving results, the surveys did not measure accuracy, and Theranos selected and summarized the feedback because Walgreens lacked the raw data. He said his favorable emails reflected his assumptions at the time, and he limited his account of an accuracy-related conference call to secondhand information. Recross returned to what the Theranos technology demonstration had conveyed.

Trial Record (12)

FederalFederal Criminal TrialAug 31, 2021 – Jan 3, 2022Called by prosecution

Nimesh Jhaveri testified about Walgreens's implementation and evaluation of its Theranos partnership, including fingerstick expectations, pilot performance, conditional expansion, information gaps, and the eventual end of services.

Day 18

colloquyEvidentiary Colloquy on Nimesh Jhaveri's TestimonyMentioned

Summary

Counsel agreed not to elicit test-voiding testimony or details of a Wall Street Journal article from Nimesh Jhaveri, while allowing him to address the end of Theranos services at Walgreens and the negative article's effect on his role.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Day 19

DirectNimesh Jhaveri — DirectNimesh JhaveriJeff Schenk8highlights284lines spoken

Summary

Nimesh Jhaveri described Walgreens's expansion conditions concerning fingerstick use and other pilot metrics, unmet venous-draw projections, and requests for financial and technology transparency. Admitted messages between Holmes and Balwani, read during the examination, addressed a nanotainer change not disclosed to Walgreens for three to four weeks and how to present it.

Highlights (8)

testimony highlightJhaveri explained that Walgreens treated fingerstick use, patient volume, wait times, and customer experience as measures of whether the Theranos pilot justified further expansion.Open in transcript →
testimony highlightJhaveri attributed three 2014 venous-draw projections to Balwani and testified that none of the projected thresholds was achieved.Open in transcript →
Quote“NO. HE ALWAYS EXPLAINED IT AS THEY WERE LEARNING FROM WHAT WAS BEING ORDERED, AND AS THEY LEARNED, THEY WOULD MAKE SURE THAT THEIR TECHNOLOGY WAS READY TO GO FOR -- WITH THE CARTRIDGES TO BE ABLE TO DO A FINGERSTICK.”— Nimesh JhaveriJhaveri said Balwani explained the high venous-draw rate through physician ordering patterns and cartridge preparation rather than technological problems.Open in transcript →
Quote“ABSOLUTELY. FOR EVERY TYPE OF PROJECT, YOU NEED TO HAVE A BALANCED VIEW. YOU JUST CAN'T HAVE ROSE COLORED GLASSES. SO THAT'S WHAT I'M TRYING TO SAY HERE.”— Nimesh JhaveriJhaveri described the need to evaluate unfavorable pilot results rather than focus only on progress.Open in transcript →
Show all 8 highlights
testimony highlightJhaveri testified that Walgreens reduced a planning goal from 500 stores to 200 because pilot results and the operating model remained imperfect, with venous draws, construction expense, training, and phlebotomist staffing among the concerns.Open in transcript →
Quote“AND IF WE DON'T GET THERE, IT'S HARD FOR ME TO CONVINCE MYSELF, OR ANY LEADERSHIP AT WALGREENS, TO SAY WE SHOULD GO FURTHER BECAUSE WE JUST WEREN'T HITTING THE METRICS THAT WE SET OUT TO DO.”— Nimesh JhaveriJhaveri directly tied further Walgreens expansion to achieving the partnership's performance metrics.Open in transcript →
rulingThe defense challenged the admissibility of Jhaveri's meeting notes in Exhibit 1906. After testimony about his contemporaneous note-taking practice, the court overruled the objection and admitted the exhibit.Open in transcript →
Quote“AND THEN THE SECOND IS UNDERSTANDING A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT WHAT IS GOING ON WITH THE TECHNOLOGY, SOME OF THE DATA POINTS THAT THEY'RE SEEING.”— Nimesh JhaveriJhaveri explained Walgreens' request for additional technology information from Theranos.Open in transcript →
CrossNimesh Jhaveri — CrossNimesh JhaveriKevin M. Downey4highlights281lines spoken

Summary

Jhaveri testified that Walgreens's ambitious Theranos rollout remained conditional on operational metrics, while patient surveys were strong and an escalated accuracy concern reportedly satisfied Walgreens medical officers.

Highlights (4)

admissionJhaveri testified that he did not negotiate the Walgreens-Theranos agreements, did not evaluate Theranos technology before the agreements were signed, and met Holmes only two or three times at most.Open in transcript →
testimony highlightCross-examination established that Walgreens intended a national rollout, but Jhaveri said expansion depended on operational feasibility, agreed metrics, and the service delivering on its promise.Open in transcript →
Quote“WE HAD EVERY INTENTION TO GO TO A NATIONAL ROLLOUT, AGAIN, IF IT WAS OPERATIONALLY FEASIBLE, THE METRICS WERE MADE, AND THE ACTUAL SERVICE DELIVERED ON ITS PROMISE.”— Nimesh JhaveriJhaveri framed Walgreens's national ambition as expressly conditional on feasibility, performance metrics, and service delivery.Open in transcript →
Quote“SO PATIENTS WERE SATISFIED WITH THE SERVICES THAT THEY WERE RECEIVING.”— Nimesh JhaveriThe statement summarizes Jhaveri's recollection of the partnership's favorable patient-experience survey results.Open in transcript →
RedirectNimesh Jhaveri — RedirectNimesh JhaveriJeff Schenk4highlights59lines spoken

Summary

Jhaveri clarified that Walgreens's expansion goals were conditional, favorable surveys preceded test results and relied on Theranos-selected data, and his praise of Holmes rested on assumed accuracy and honesty.

Highlights (4)

testimony highlightJhaveri described a Palo Alto demonstration at which Holmes and Balwani presented the service, Walgreens visitors received fingerstick blood draws, and a Theranos machine was displayed as part of the anticipated patient experience.Open in transcript →
Quote“I PERSONALLY HAD NEVER SAID THAT IT WAS GUARANTEED.”— Nimesh JhaveriJhaveri directly rejected the suggestion that Walgreens's 2,500-store expansion goal amounted to a guarantee.Open in transcript →
testimony highlightJhaveri testified that Walgreens marketed the fingerstick experience as using a small amount of blood and as painless and efficient.Open in transcript →
Quote“YES. IF YOU RECALL, THE SIGNAGE HAD A PICTURE OF A SMALL AMOUNT OF BLOOD, AND THE LANGUAGE THAT WE USED WAS A SMALLER TEST, AND THE IDEA WAS THAT IT WOULD USE A SMALL AMOUNT OF BLOOD, AND IT WAS A PAINLESS, EFFICIENT TEST.”— Nimesh JhaveriJhaveri described how Walgreens marketed the fingerstick feature and the anticipated patient experience.Open in transcript →
RecrossNimesh Jhaveri — RecrossNimesh JhaveriKevin M. Downey2highlights22lines spoken

Summary

Jhaveri described a positive personal experience with Theranos services but framed accuracy and quality-control practices as assumptions and acknowledged limits in his knowledge and recollection.

Highlights (2)

testimony highlightJhaveri testified that he underwent both fingerstick and venous draws to experience the service as a patient would and said his personal experience was positive.Open in transcript →
Quote“YEAH. PART OF THAT WAS FOR ME TO EXPERIENCE WHAT A PATIENT WILL EXPERIENCE, AND SO I DID HAVE A LAB ORDER SENT IN FOR ME AT ONE OF THE STORES BECAUSE I WANTED TO EXPERIENCE WHAT A PATIENT WOULD WALK IN AND EXPERIENCE THEMSELVES, AND SO THAT WAS THE REASON.”— Nimesh JhaveriJhaveri explained that his own blood draws were intended to evaluate the service from a patient's perspective.Open in transcript →

Day 21

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Day 40

CrossElizabeth A. Holmes — CrossElizabeth A. HolmesRobert S. LeachMentioned

Summary

Holmes's cross-examination covered Theranos's response to critical reporting and whistleblowers, her control of the company, limits on Theranos devices, and Balwani's influence. She acknowledged major mistakes in the Wall Street Journal response, extensive reliance on commercial equipment, and problems with pharmaceutical-branded reports while disputing retaliation and several prosecutorial characterizations.

Mentioned in this proceeding.

Day 42