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
Web-based Test Ordering Is A “Tough Nut To Crack”
CEO SUMMARY: Shifting office-based physicians to Web-accessed lab test ordering proved to be a daunting task for WebMD and its early competitors. Probably the most significant discovery is that modest capabilities of existing software technology and the lack of Internet broadband connecti…
Nurse Shortage Parallels That of Fewer Med Techs
CEO SUMMARY: It’s a story that will soon become a national headline. Even as laboratories struggle to find enough med techs to fill open positions, hospitals are facing an even bigger problem in getting enough nurses to keep units staffed and open. Recruiting nurses overseas is one solu…
DIANON Systems, IMPATH, Specialty Labs, Dynacare, Quest, LabCorp
DIANON & IMPATH REPORT 2000 EARNINGS TWO OF THE NATIONAL anatomic pathology companies reported fourth quarter earnings. Both DIANON Systems, Inc. and IMPATH, Inc. posted big gains in revenues and operating profits for 2000. At DIANON Systems, revenues r…
“February 26, 2001 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Multiplex testing on a single specimen is getting ever closer to the clinical marketplace. On February 19, LINCO Research, Inc. and Luminex Corporation announced an agreement that calls for LINCO to develop, manufacture, and market multianalyte immunoassay kits using…
Eight Trends Reshaping Clinical Lab Services
CEO SUMMARY: Once again, THE DARK REPORT’S annual list of lab industry trends deals less with government regulation and influence on laboratory operations and more with the impact of new technologies and new management philosophies. Marketplace acceptance of these lab industry trends is…
“Local” Anatomic Path Has Two Major Players
CEO SUMMARY: After a lot of money and much effort, the fledgling crop of companies wanting to consolidate and manage pathology group practices has narrowed into just two market leaders: AmeriPath and Pathology Service Associates. These two companies could not be more different in their go…
Atlas Development, Labtest.com, Bio-Reference Labs, Cytyc, TriPath Imaging
EARLY ADOPTERS OFFER WEB-ENABLED LAB TEST REPORTING TO DOCTORS THERE’S A GROWING NUMBER of clinical laboratories which now provide Web-enabled lab test reporting to their physician-clients. Dynacare, Inc. is in the first phase of a national roll-out of Web-enabled lab tes…
Lab Sales & Marketing Programs Are Changing
CEO SUMMARY: Market evidence points to a shifting role in the sales priorities of the national labs. Meanwhile, regional laboratories and pathology companies are enjoying surprising success with their sales and marketing programs. These shifting patterns may indicate a new stratification …
“February 5, 2001 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
This time the Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA) looked in its own backyard to find a Executive Director. On Monday, February 12, Robert Neri will begin his responsibilities at CLMA. Not only does Neri have a long career in laboratory management, but he lives in the Ph…
Two Labs Complete IPOs, AML May be Next in Line
CEO SUMMARY: During the year 2000, investors liked the performance of clinical labs. When stock market woes surfaced this fall, it was not enough to dampen investor interest in Dynacare and Specialty Laboratories. Both companies funded their initial public stock offering in a difficult ma…
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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