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
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…
Bill Bonello Sees Opportunities In Diagnostic Services Companies
CEO SUMMARY: With the clinical laboratory industry now enjoying growing interest by professional investors, THE DARK REPORT traveled to New York City to meet with financial analyst William B. Bonello, of U S Bancorp Piper Jaffray. Bonello co-authored a just-released overview of what he ca…
Piper Jaffray Illustrates “New” Paradigm for Role of Lab Tests
WHEN FINANCIAL ANALYST William B. Bonello issued his overview report on the diagnostic services industry last week, little did he know that one element of his report would prove an instant hit with lab industry executives. During the U.S. Bancorp Piper Jaffray conference la…
Is it Early-90s “Deja Vu” For Today’s Lab Industry?
CEO SUMMARY: Stock prices for laboratory and pathology companies have skyrocketed since the new decade of the 2000s dawned on January 1. Is investor optimism warranted by the opportunities ahead in diagnostic testing? Or will history repeat itself if the continuing evolution of American h…
“October 2, 2000 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News”
More clinical laboratories are interested in obtaining ISO-9000 certification. The laboratory divisions of Kaiser Permanente-Southern California and Kaiser Permanente-Northern California are each preparing for an ISO-9000 certification effort. As reported in this iss…
MCOs Asking For More Lab Test Information
CEO SUMMARY: During the past 12 months, managed care companies in Michigan have increased the quantity and quality of the laboratory test information they want from their laboratory providers. Once again, the marketplace is raising the bar for competitive laboratory services. In response,…
Medicare HMO Program Debates Funding Levels
CEO SUMMARY: Medicare+Choice was to offer seniors insurance options that went beyond standard Medicare fee-for-service services.Through the 1990s, seniors enrolled in Medicare HMOs at phenomenal rates. A recent GAO report repeated claims that Medicare HMOs are over-funded, to the tune of …
Quest Diagnostics Emphasizes Venture Capital Investments
ONE SIGNIFICANT business strategy in play at Quest Diagnostics Incorporated is venture capital investing. With $3 billion in sales, Quest Diagnostics is the largest clinical laboratory company in the United States. It understands that the traditional lab sales strategy of marketing …
Accurate Costing of New Pap Technology Proves Interesting
CEO SUMMARY: Various new technologies intended to supplant conventional Pap smear screening must deliver improved clinical performance in a cost-effective manner. Joseph Plandowski, our guest writer,concludes his three-part series on new Pap smear technologies by evaluating actual lab cos…
CURRENT ISSUE
Volume XXXII, No. 13 – September 15, 2025
The Dark Report examines a new bill that would reform PAMA and avoid reimbursement rate cuts scheduled for January 2026. Clinical laboratory leaders are urged to make their voices heard in Congress. Also, an expert describes how labs can fix pre-analytical errors and avoid disaster.
See the full table of contentsHow Much Laboratory Business Intelligence Have You Missed?
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