Chia-Lin Simmons is the CEO of LogicMark, overseeing the company’s evolution to an all-encompassing hardware / SaaS / recurring revenue company with expansion into the consumer and B2B markets. Simmons has driven financial stability, orchestrated a successful product development pipeline, and led the launch of industry-leading medical alert technology. Prior to joining LogicMark, Ms. Simmons was the CEO and co-founder of LookyLoo, a patented AI social commerce company. She also held high-level positions at Google’s Google Play Music and the Google Play Store, Harman International/Samsung, Playphone North America, Time Warner/ AOL, and Audible/Amazon.
Company: LogicMark
We are thrilled to have you join us today, welcome to ValiantCEO Magazine’s exclusive interview! Let’s start off with a little introduction. Tell our readers a bit about yourself and your company.
Chia-Lin Simmons: I’m Chia-Lin Simmons, CEO of LogicMark. We create personal safety and health communications products—think medical alert wearables, safety apps, and emergency systems that help people live independently with confidence. Since 2006, we’ve been providing these lifelines. In 2007, we began helping veterans through the VA Healthcare system as well.
Before taking the helm at LogicMark, I spent over 25 years in tech leadership—both at scrappy startups and established public companies. I’ve always been drawn to innovation, which has led to launching numerous technologies and even securing a patent in AI predictive search along the way.
Can you share a time when your business faced a significant challenge? How did you navigate through it?
Chia-Lin Simmons: When I walked into LogicMark in June 2021, I found what many would call a perfect storm of a difficult corporate situation: no new products since 2015, customers fleeing to competitors with better offerings, delisting notices looming, and more bills than cash to pay them.
So why did I jump aboard what looked like a sinking ship? Because beneath the surface, I saw tremendous potential—a resilient, intelligent team, a growing market hungry for better solutions, and a clear vision of where we needed to go.
I learned from my father, a former police officer, that when chaos erupts, that’s precisely when you need to get calmer and more focused. In crisis, everything can feel overwhelming, but breaking mountains into molehills makes the impossible possible. I approach each challenge by dividing it into manageable pieces with clear timelines—small victories that build momentum.
The right team makes all the difference when you’re navigating rough waters. I’ve found it’s less about whether someone is full-time or a consultant and more about three essential qualities: trust, grace under pressure, and exceptional communication. That last piece is non-negotiable. When the stakes are high, the ability to communicate clearly and quickly becomes your lifeline to success.
How has a failure or apparent failure set you up for later success?
Chia-Lin Simmons: Early in my tech industry journey, I lost two jobs in my first year—after turning down what my parents considered a dream offer from Disney to chase this thing called “the Internet.” My parents were bewildered, making frantic calls asking if I’d lost my mind. Honestly, I sometimes wondered the same.
I had studied the internet academically, but in those early days, it was constantly evolving with few real-world examples of its potential. I sought security by attaching myself to big brand names, only to discover they were making critical misjudgments about where the internet was headed.
These early stumbles taught me lessons I carry to this day: First, get comfortable with big change—especially in tech, where transformation isn’t just possible, it’s inevitable. Second, don’t be paralyzed by the fear of failure—try, fall down, dust yourself off, learn something, and get back up stronger. And third, stop chasing prestigious logos and start pursuing meaningful goals—identify what truly matters to you professionally, then find the partnerships that help you get there.
How do you build a resilient team? What qualities do you look for in your team members?
Chia-Lin Simmons: I build resilience through what might sound counterintuitive in business: empathy, transparency, vulnerability, and leading by example. Companies bring in leaders like me during pivotal moments—ambitious growth phases or necessary reinventions—times when uncertainty runs high for everyone involved.
As a leader, I believe my job is to understand perspectives beyond my own—to truly hear our customers and team members. By being transparent about challenges and willing to share my own uncertainties, I create space where nobody feels isolated in their concerns. This approach mirrors our company’s mission of helping people live with dignity—we practice internally what we promise externally.
When building my team, I look for that spark of emotional intelligence alongside technical chops. I need people who instinctively reach for collaboration when facing obstacles—who pick up the phone or walk across the hall to solve problems together. I’ve worked with brilliant executives who possessed remarkable skills but struggled to communicate across functions. In today’s fast-moving environment, that’s like having a Ferrari with no steering wheel.
How do you maintain your personal resilience during tough times?
Chia-Lin Simmons: I stay resilient by reminding myself I’m part of something bigger than myself. During tough stretches, it’s easy to feel like you’re alone on an island, even surrounded by colleagues. I counteract this by engaging deeply with my team—understanding their perspectives, sharing my own thoughts openly, and constantly reinforcing our collective mission.
Personal resilience doesn’t mean putting on a brave face and suffering silently. Quite the opposite—it requires more communication, not less. When we’re mindful about how we express concerns, we create an environment where everyone feels comfortable leaning on each other during difficult moments. There’s immense strength in remembering that while challenges may feel personal, we face them as a unified team.
What strategies do you use to manage stress and maintain focus during a crisis?
Chia-Lin Simmons: I’ll be the first to admit—I’m still working on my stress management playbook. Like many leaders driving growth or change, I naturally focus outward, ensuring my team has clear paths and necessary resources, sometimes at the expense of my own well-being. This external focus can leave stress internalized and focus fragmented, which is exactly why we hear about founder and executive burnout.
Under pressure, even the best of us snap at colleagues or loved ones. I’ve certainly had moments I’m not proud of. The key is ownership—acknowledging mistakes quickly, apologizing sincerely, and rebuilding those bridges. I’ve also learned to take a breath before responding in high-stress situations. Even three seconds of pause can dramatically improve the quality of a decision or communication.
These days, I practice what I preach to my team about stress management. I deliberately carve out family time, like volunteering with my daughter’s high school lacrosse team. There’s something surprisingly refreshing about a carpool full of teenage girls sharing their “tea” that reconnects me with joy and perspective.
I also block two uninterrupted hours weekly for strategic thinking and learning—time to slow down, analyze deeply, and explore ideas beyond my industry bubble. Some of my best innovations have come from connecting dots between seemingly unrelated fields—hospitality concepts applied to healthcare, or economic game theory principles reimagined for personal care.
How do you communicate with your team during a crisis?
Chia-Lin Simmons: During crisis, I believe in transparent, open, and vulnerable communication. When uncertainty looms, people naturally worry about the company’s future and their place in it. This anxiety multiplies when information gaps exist. While some details must remain confidential, maximum appropriate transparency addresses concerns directly and channels collective energy toward solutions.
Nobody wants to follow a leader who pretends to have all the answers or shows no awareness of shared concerns. People respond to authentic leadership—knowing you understand their worries, share some of their vulnerability, and have developed a thoughtful path forward creates the foundation for weathering storms together.
We all make communication missteps under pressure—speaking hastily or becoming overly heated in discussions. When I make these mistakes, I own them quickly, apologize sincerely, and rebuild trust. Without this accountability, teams become risk-averse, stifling the very innovation needed for extraordinary outcomes.
I cannot emphasize enough: open communication during crisis isn’t just important—it’s your lifeline to successfully navigating troubled waters.
What advice would you give to other CEOs on building resilience in their organizations?
Chia-Lin Simmons: To fellow CEOs looking to build resilience, I suggest focusing on three fundamental elements: First, cultivate a mindset where challenges energize rather than paralyze your team, where difficulties become opportunities to strengthen collective muscle. Second, ensure your team genuinely commits to shared objectives, creating alignment that withstands pressure. Finally, train your organization to distinguish between controllable and uncontrollable variables, directing energy toward factors within your sphere of influence.
During crisis, countless elements lie beyond your control. Spending precious resources on uncontrollable factors depletes the energy needed for effective action. Resilient teams recognize this distinction instinctively, channeling their efforts toward impactful interventions rather than unproductive worry.
How do you prepare your business for potential future crises?
Chia-Lin Simmons: We prepare by strengthening our resilience muscles daily—approaching obstacles as challenges to overcome rather than barriers that define us. This includes collective commitment to shared objectives and disciplined focus on controlling what we can control.
During COVID-19, LogicMark faced countless disruptions outside our control. Instead of becoming paralyzed, we doubled down on our core mission—providing exceptional personal safety and care. Our team collaborated creatively to source components, communicate transparently with customers during transitions, and share concerns openly to find collective solutions. This crisis-tested approach now forms our blueprint for future challenges.
What’s the most important lesson you’ve learned about leadership in times of crisis?
Chia-Lin Simmons: The greatest lesson I’ve learned? Keep a cool head and communicate with clarity, purpose, and conviction. Crisis creates pressure for instant action and rapid communication, potentially sacrificing thoughtfulness for speed. In my family, we practice the idea that the hotter the situation, the cooler the response. When everything feels like it’s catching fire, that’s precisely when you need your most level-headed thinking.
Fighting our natural fight-or-flight response during crisis requires tremendous discipline. The leaders who distinguish themselves are those who can make sound, swift decisions without emotional interference, even with the world seemingly crumbling around them. It’s not about being emotionless; it’s about channeling emotion into purposeful action rather than reactive decision-making.
