Making Meaning Out of Life’s Pause: Billie Whitehouse on Finding Strength, Setting Boundaries, and Leading With Intention
In June, Forbes profiled Billie Whitehouse, CEO and Creative Director of Wearable X, as she broke her silence about leading through a devastating health crisis. Diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer at 27 while 22 weeks pregnant, Whitehouse underwent emergency surgery that ensured her survival, but came with the profound heartbreak of losing her baby. She later endured chemotherapy, recurrence, and recovery—all while at the helm of her company. Now in remission, she is sharing what she wishes she had known, offering lessons for women to remain effective leaders by leading with intention through profound personal challenges.
How do you rebuild meaning and purpose when life stops you in your tracks? And how can vulnerability and boundaries become strengths rather than weaknesses in leadership?
On this episode of The Purpose Pivot, host Melissa Gonzalez sits down with Billie to explore how personal crisis reshaped her life, her leadership, and her approach to innovation. Together, they discuss how to find resilience in stillness, how to filter partnerships and priorities with clarity, and how to honor the body’s signals rather than override them.
The dialogue centers on…
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Billie’s personal lessons from her cancer diagnosis, loss, and recovery—including why she no longer equates success with “pushing through” at all costs and how leading with intention reshaped her perspective.
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How Wearable X evolved from playful prototypes into a wellness-focused brand, and why haptic technology is central to reimagining well-being.
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The leadership shifts Billie made after her health crisis: setting boundaries, over-communicating with her board, and redefining achievement.
Billie Whitehouse is the CEO and Creative Director of Wearable X, where she combines expertise in hardware, software, and apparel design to create award-winning wearable technology, including the yoga-enhancing Nadi X line. Her work has been recognized globally, with honors such as Fast Company’s “100 Most Creative People,” Business Insider’s “30 Under 30,” and the Fashion Group International Design Technology Award. A frequent keynote speaker, Billie has presented at global stages from Cannes Lions to Wired UK, and her designs have been showcased at the Venice Biennale and Musée de l’Homme in Paris.
Article written by MarketScale.
