Fall 2012 Issue - Archmere Academy

Alumnus ProfileLiving the Optimal Life: Tom Boettcher ‘81With a world record in open water butterfly swimming,a tour with the Paris Opera Ballet, a series of high-techstartups, and a best-selling book on core training to hiscredit, Archmere Alumnus Thomas Boettcher ‘81 is livingproof of his theories on optimal performance and humanalignment, forging an unconventional path to success.Tom and his brother Karl ‘88 started HumanLabs in 2003,following the death of their mother from late-diagnosiscancer. “We were looking for a model for early tumordetection that could support the exponential developmentof sensing technology”, says Tom. HumanLabs deploys analgorithmic approach to personalized medicine that Tominnovated during his career at Bell Labs, where he foundeda division that consulted with 2,000 corporations aroundthe world. Karl, a former director of Accenture Labs inEurope, specialized in commercializing new technologies– creating financial and organizational models neededto launch startup companies. Both decided that theycould make the biggest difference, aggressively engagingcutting-edge technologies while still remaining true to theirCatholic values, by launching a portfolio of companies ontheir own.“We wanted to find a way to make detection, therapy andtreatment personalized and efficient using everythingfrom physiological vectors, nutrition, and meditation to,The photo above appeared in the July 2010 issue of the Wall Street Journalaccompanying titled “For the Athlete Who Has It All,” which featured Tomand his buttefly stroke.The above photo of Tom was included in a recent blog post byThe International HouseWares Association, which spoke about hislecture on how the latest technology trends can be manifestedinto more innovative product designs.ultimately, your unique genetic code” says Tom. “We focuson democratizing technology, and making it affordable foreveryone.”Now, in addition to researching how technology can beused to individualize medicinal treatments and earlydisease detection, HumanLabs also provides consultationservices in all areas of physical wellbeing and performance.Tom and Karl, both Mensans, have worked and beenin conversation with leading physicians, designers,innovators, and high-performance athletes – experts ina variety of fields, to share their research-backed ideasabout how to promote optimal human performance in allareas. Nobel Prize-winning DNA double helix guru JamesWatson sought Tom’s insight for trends in whole genomesequencing and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak embraceshis work on optimal alignment. Clients have includedFormula One racing teams and c-level executives ofFortune 500 companies.Putting his philosophy into practice and applying ananalytical approach, Tom spent time studying the ideal wayto swim the butterfly, and now holds the world’s fastesttime for open-water, 5 Kilometer butterfly swimming.His stroke innovations have been implemented at the20