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
At Executive War College 2016, Two Big Lab Market Trends
CEO SUMMARY: What happens when 100 lab experts interact with an audience of more than 850 lab administrators, pathologists, and IVD executives from across the United States and seven other nations? A consensus of sorts emerges and during this 2016 edition of the Executive War College on L…
April 11, 2016 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News
Tonya Mallory is back in the news and this time she is teaming up with the former CEO of Bon Secours Virginia to launch a new healthcare company. Mallory was formerly CEO of Health Diagnostic Laboratory of Richmond, Virginia. This is the lab…
Mayo Medical Laboratories Will Close Massachusetts Lab
IN AN ANNOUNCEMENT MADE LAST MONTH, Mayo Medical Laboratories said that it would close the lab facility it operates in Andover, Massachusetts, by the end of the year. As a result of this move, Mayo will eliminate 105 jobs in this leafy suburb north of Boston. For 20 years, MML…
March 21, 2016 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News
Tougher times in the clinical lab testing market have claimed another lab company. On February 28, Artherotech, Inc., posted a notice on its website stating that it had closed permanently, as of that date. Along with its several hundred employees, Artherotech’s closure caught many…
Understanding the Future Of Laboratory Medicine
CEO SUMMARY: Healthcare’s transformation is now far enough along that most clinical labs and pathology groups are either feeling the financial pain or are excitedly developing ways to deliver more value from lab testing services. On April 26-27, at the 21st annual …
February 29, 2016 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News
Sandy, Utah-based Sure Genomics is the latest genetic testing company to get a letter from the Food and Drug Administration asking why the company is marketing its SureDNA genetic testing kit to consumers without first obtaining clearance from the federal agency. Th…
LabCorp Now Larger than Quest, Two Labs Report 2015 Earnings
IN RECENT WEEKS, the nation’s two largest lab companies reported fourth quarter and full-year earnings for 2015. The earnings reports reveal how the paths of the two companies are diverging. The companies are diverging because of a major acquisition made in February 2015, by Laboratory Cor…
How Mentors Can Best Train Young Lab Leaders
CEO SUMMARY: Mentoring will be the theme of a special learning track at this year’s Executive War College. Two nationally-respected experts on mentoring and leadership development will work with participating lab mentors and mentorees to help them advance their mentoring relationship. A…
February 8, 2016 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News
Microbiology’s most important reagent is undergoing a supply crunch and becoming more expensive. Agar production is being affected by two factors. One is the increased global demand for seaweed. The second are new restrictions on the trade of seaweed, intended to protect natural stocks of seaweed….
January 19, 2016 Intelligence: Late Breaking Lab News
Sakura Finetek USA, Inc., announced on January 5 that it had acquired 100% of the stock of GeneMed Biotechnologies Inc., of South San Francisco, California, along with its “tissue-based advanced staining business for cancer detection, diagnosis, and monitoring.”…
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.
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