Jake Leach, who started his career washing laboratory equipment for $10 an hour, is now the CEO of Dexcom, a US healthcare technology company valued at approximately $30 billion.
At the time, he was a teenager trying to save money for community college. His responsibilities included washing beakers, flasks and other laboratory equipment. “There’s no shortcut. Leach grew up in California’s San Fernando Valley in a family with modest financial means. His father worked in groundskeeping at a Catholic school, while his mother later became a teacher’s aide. Leach later attended Glendale Community College before transferring to UCLA, where he studied electrical and biomedical engineering. Leach’s temporary job at MiniMed eventually became a full-time position. Instead, he focused on performing well, solving problems and taking on responsibilities that others often avoided. Offering advice to younger professionals, Leach encouraged them to look beyond their assigned responsibilities. “Everyone kind of has their functional swim lane. You got to get out of that, and I think that’s when you become a more valuable leader for an organisation.”
(Also read: United Airlines CEO supports wealth tax despite $32 million paycheck ) According to a Fortune report, Leach began working at insulin pump manufacturer MiniMed in the 1990s after his high-school girlfriend offered him the chance to take over her internship position. Nearly three decades later, the 48-year-old leads one of the biggest companies in diabetes management technology. As a child, he once wanted a $350 bicycle, which his family could not afford. Determined to buy it, he spent a summer washing cars for $2 each and saved enough money. (Also read: US CEO gives employees Fridays off without pay cuts, company’s revenue rises nearly 160% in 3 years ) His interest in engineering developed through his grandfather, who taught him about electrical wiring and other household repairs. After spending seven years there, he joined Dexcom in 2004, when the startup had just 30 employees. The move nearly doubled his annual salary from $45,000 to $95,000. Over the years, he climbed the corporate ladder, becoming chief technology officer in 2018 and chief operating officer in 2022. In January 2026, he took over as Dexcom’s president and CEO, with an annual base salary of $1.15 million. Despite his success, Leach revealed that he never asked for a promotion during his 22-year career at Dexcom.
“It’s all about hard work,” Leach told Fortune. “It’s always been: keep doing a really good job, keep solving big problems, keep fostering leaders, teaching people, [and] learning from other people,” he said. “It’s like getting outside your swim lane,” he said.
