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
AML & Dynacare Next To Try a Public Offering
CEO SUMMARY: There will be plenty of competition for investors’ dollars this fall. American Medical Laboratories and Dynacare will join Specialty Laboratories in the effort to place an initial public offering (IPO). Three laboratory companies coming to market during the same period will…
IPO Is Major Strategy For American Med Labs
CEO SUMMARY: Since its acquisition in 1997, American Medical Laboratories’ fast growth was funded by heavy borrowing. Now this Virginia-based lab company needs to raise additional capital so it can restructure its debt and lay a foundation for the next cycle of growth. Its initial publi…
ISO 9000 Growing Across Lab Divisions of Quest Diagnostics
CEO SUMMARY: Currently the American healthcare system is struggling to evolve away from its “cottage industry” roots and adopt modern corporate management methods. Within the clinical laboratory industry, Quest Diagnostics Incorporated has staked out the high ground. Its strategic obj…
Intel & iMcKesson Fund Study Of Doctor-Patient Email System
IT’S CONSUMER DEMAND which motivated Intel Corporation and iMcKesson LLC to fund a study of how state-of-the-art email connectivity benefits physicians and their patients. The study, announced on October 11, will be conducted at the University of Michigan …
Advanced Health Technologies, ProxyMed, WebMD, ePhysician, Data Critical Corp.
Editor’s Note: There is a major push by many well-funded companies to convert lab test ordering and results reporting onto Web-enabled systems. Here’s a sampling of what some companies are attempting to accomplish. AHT, MAKER OF DR.CHART, FILES BANKRUPTCY AND IS ACQU…
Dynacare Sets Sights On Raising $89 Million
CEO SUMMARY: Throughout the 1990s, Dynacare weathered the wholesale restructuring of health services in several key Canadian provinces where it operates. In the United States, it sought to build a national base of lab testing even as lab consolidation raged and capitated managed care cont…
“October 23, 2000 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
Get ready for the stock market to begin creating multi-millionaires from today’s generation of commercial laboratory executives. Most laboratorians know that Roche sold $430.5 million of its stock holding in Laboratory Corporation of America stock only seven days a…
Specialty Labs Prepares For Public Stock Offering
CEO SUMMARY: Stock prices for public lab companies zoomed upwards through 2000. For this reason, executives at Specialty Laboratories, Inc. believe it is an auspicious time for their laboratory to bring an initial public offering (IPO) to market. Company officials recently filed a stock r…
Successful Specialty IPO Can Open Door for Others
CEO SUMMARY: It’s no secret that a handful of laboratory companies would like to complete an initial public offering (IPO). If Specialty Labs’ public offering goes well, expect these lab companies to bring their own stock offerings to the public equity markets. As the number of public…
National Esoteric/Reference Rankings
Little is known about how the marketplace for hospital send-out testing is divided among national laboratory competitors.These rankings mark the second year THE DARK REPORT has attempted to measure the market for hospital esoteric and reference testing. This ranking does not include niche…
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.
See the full table of contentsHow Much Laboratory Business Intelligence Have You Missed?
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