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
Management Execution Part of AML’s Success
CEO SUMMARY: Swift and positive changes at American Medical Laboratories (AML) came as a direct result of energetic management. AML provides lab executives with an outstanding case study of how to take an existing, somewhat tranquil lab organization and turn it into a high-performance rev…
1998 LIS Sales Rankings Show How Marketplace is Changing
CONSOLIDATION CONTINUED impacting sales of new laboratory information system (LIS) software during 1998. Sales champs in THE DARK REPORT’s annual ranking of the Top Ten LIS Vendors for 1998 are Meditech and Fletcher Flora, in the categories of LIS sales t…
Neuromedical Systems Files Bankruptcy Action
CEO SUMMARY: Automated cytology technology suffered its first financial failure. Escalating losses and dismal revenue prospects combined to drive Neuromedical Systems, Inc. into bankruptcy. Its PapNet System for Pap smears was a pioneering technology that never achieved market acceptance….
AutoCyte to Buy NSI’s Patents and Other Assets
CEO SUMMARY: When Neuromedical Systems entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy, AutoCyte moved rapidly to purchase Neuromedical’s patents and other intellectual property for automated cytology technology. Even as Neuromedical disappears from the marketplace, AutoCyte is preparing its entry. Labor…
Unilab, DIANON Systems, UroCor Report 1998 Financial Results
OPTIMISM REIGNS at California-based Unilab Corporation. Revenues are up, operating profits are increasing, and company officials are now talking about growth plans. For 1998, Unilab generated revenues of $217.4 million, compared to $214.0 million in 1997. …
“April 5, 1999 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
As consolidation of hospital ownership goes, so goes laboratory consolidation. The big trend driving consolidation of hospital ownership is the formation of integrated healthcare systems (IHS). According to SMG Marketing Group, a Chicago-based healthcare information and marketing com…
Movers & Shakers For ’99 Demonstrate Leadership
EACH YEAR IT BECOMES more difficult to make final selections for our annual Movers & Shakers awards. The reason is simple. Today there are more examples of leadership in the laboratory than when we first started these selections three years ago. This is a good omen. It means that the crucible of…
AmeriPath, Cytyc, NeoPath, Morphometrix, AutoCyte
AMERIPATH REPORTS RECORD YEAR & LOSES ITS CHAIRMAN MIXED SIGNALS RECENTLY EMERGED from AmeriPath, Inc., the country’s largest pathology PPM. It finished the year with strong financials and lost its chairman. On one hand, it finished its first full year as a public com…
Sales & Marketing Is Critical To Success Of Labs & Pathologists
CEO SUMMARY: Careful study of the most successful lab oratories operating today reveals a common characteristic: the effective use of sale s and marketing methods to boost specimen volume, revenue, and operating profits. This is true whether it’s a hospital lab outreach program, a comme…
First-Ever National Gathering Of Lab Sales Managers
CEO SUMMARY: Here’s a news-making event for the clinical laboratory industry: a first-ever national meeting of the country’s best sales and marketing managers. Scheduled as a new addition to the EXECUTIVE WAR COLLEGE on May 11-13, it’s an unprecedented opportunity for the nation’s…
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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