Robert Michel
Until Robert L. Michel came along and founded The Dark Intelligence Group (DIG) two decades ago, the clinical laboratory industry and the anatomic pathology profession lacked a trustworthy source for information about the management and operations of medical laboratories. From its inception in 1995, The Dark Report quickly became the “go to” source of industry intelligence, innovations in lab management, and strategic market analysis.
This excellence in reporting has earned recognition from his peers. For example, twice Michel and The Dark Report have won national awards for best investigative reporting by the Specialty Information Publishers Association. In 2005, the award was for Michel’s coverage about how the anatomic pathology condominium laboratories (pod labs) operated by urologists and gastroenterologists came to be, who operated them, and how these owners marketed the AP condo labs to other physician groups. In 2009, Michel’s award for best investigative reporting resulted from his published interviews with Quest Diagnostics Incorporated when the company admitted that, for a period of 18 months, it had been reported inaccurate Vitamin 25(OH) D results because of problems with its laboratory-developed test methodology. The Dark Report’s story was picked up by The New York Times and was in the national news cycle for several days.
In his role as Editor-in-Chief, Michel brought unique capabilities to DIG and The Dark Report. His management training and diverse business experience—along with his skills as a concise writer and analyst—proved to be a winning combination for readers of The Dark Report. For that reason, Michel’s story has many intriguing elements.
Immediately prior to founding DIG, he had served in several executive positions for Nichols Institute based in Portland, Oregon, and San Juan Capistrano, California. This was during the time that Nichols Institute was an independent public lab company with annual revenues of about $280 million (prior to its acquisition by MetPath, Inc., now Quest Diagnostics Incorporated). He traveled extensively to many of the clinical lab business units owned by Nichols Institute in different regions of the United States and played a role in formulating effective market strategies in response to the emergence of closed-panel HMOs, capitated pricing, and full-risk managed care contracts, among other successful management initiatives.
Prior to his service at Nichols Institute, Michel served at three different Fortune 100 companies. These were Procter & Gamble, Centex Corporation, and Financial Corp. of America. Each was an opportunity to master new management techniques and apply them in different industries. Between these positions, he gained experience as an entrepreneur, having founded a real estate development firm and a general contracting company in the Southeastern United States.
Robert Michel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he played rugby, a sport he participated in for another 22 years. He is a native of California and grew up in Santa Ana.
Articles by Robert Michel
No Disruptive Technology In Lab Industry’s Future
CEO SUMMARY: As new diagnostic technologies move through the development pipeline and into widespread clinical use, the scientific knowledge and skill sets needed by laboratory staff and management will change. The emphasis in laboratory medicine will evolve to include more molecular tech…
Looking at Fast-Growth And Slow-Growth Areas In Diagnostic Testing
CEO SUMMARY: This exclusive intelligence briefing predicts how specific new technologies may drive changes in the laboratory-testing marketplace during the next five years. The key message is that change is expected to be incremental, not disruptive—given the technology known to be in d…
Two Blood Brothers Ramp Up Marketing of New Lab Assays
GROWTH IN SPECIMEN VOLUME and revenues is the major challenge at the nation’s two largest laboratory corporations. How Laboratory Corporation of America and Quest Diagnostics Incorporated solve this problem will affect and influence every remaining clinical labora…
“October 20, 2003 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Here’s a reminder that corporate fraud didn’t bypass healthcare. Last week Albert Bergonzi, former Executive Vice President of McKesson/HBOC, pled guilty to violations of securities laws. He admitted that he had “cooked the books” around the time of HBOC’s acquisition by Mc…
Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filed by IMPATH, Inc.
CEO SUMMARY: To the surprise of very few, IMPATH, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. During 2003, most of IMPATH’s key executives departed as different problems within the company became known. IMPATH’s new executive leadership is dealing with a host of difficult issues….
AP’s “High & Mighty” Firms Hit Tough Times
CEO SUMMARY: In the years between 1995 and 2002, public companies AmeriPath, DIANON Systems, and IMPATH built revenues and profits at a blistering pace. During this time period, these three firms captured enough market share to do almost $1 billion of anatomic pathology business in 2002. …
Entrepreneur Offers Private Pay Autopsies
CEO SUMMARY: For the past 14 years, a non-pathologist entrepreneur has enjoyed a growing business in offering autopsy services to clients willing to pay out-of-pocket. By design, the business is limited to the Southern California region. But demand in that region is enough to regularly en…
West Hills Lab Outreach Still Thrives in California
CEO SUMMARY: Now in its seventh year, the lab outreach program at West Hills Hospital and Medical Center in Southern California continues to produce significant revenues. The goal was to target physicians’ offices in the medical campus around the hospital and provide them a local laborato…
Brazil’s Lab Industry Gathers in Rio de Janeiro
CEO SUMMARY: Healthcare in Brazil remains a free market and thousands of clinical laboratories exist to fill the demand. However, there are early indications that commercial laboratories in Brazil may be on the verge of the same tidal wave of lab acquisitions and consolidation that was ex…
Healthcare Premiums Climb At Double-Digit Rate for 2004
EXPECTATIONS that health insurance premiums will increase by an average of 12% to 15% for 2004 have captured plenty of media attention recently. Employers and health insurers are currently negotiating premiums for 2004. There is consensus among healthcare experts that 2004 will be the fourth consecu…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 12 – August 25, 2025
In an exclusive interview, a laboratory industry M&A specialist discusses what’s driving lab outreach sales to national lab companies. Also, The Dark Report analyzes ways in which pathology and clinical labs can profitably partner with pharmaceutical companies.
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