ACMG: Melanie Wells
Melanie Wells has been named as the new CEO of the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics. The first African American and the first woman to lead the organization, Wells will succeed ACMG interim CEO Robert Best. Wells joined the ACMG and the ACMG Foundation in 2016 as director of administration and has been chief operations officer since 2020. Previously, she was chief operating officer for the Society for Public Health Education, as well as executive director of Capital City Area Health Education Center in Washington, D.C. She received a master of public health in health policy and management with a concentration in healthcare organizations and management from the University of South Florida, College of Public Health. She also holds a B.S. in chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Hologic: Kevin Thornal, Jennifer Schneiders
Hologic announced the resignation of Kevin Thornal, president of Global Diagnostics Solutions, effective April 21. He joined Hologic in 2014 as VP of customer experience, field service, and clinical applications for its Breast and Skeletal Health division, and he is leaving to become the CEO of California-based medical device firm Nevro. Jennifer Schneiders, current VP of US sales and commercial excellence for Hologic's Diagnostics Solutions division, will assume the president role upon Thornal's departure.
Identifai-Genetics: Susan Gross
Susan Gross has been appointed as chief strategic advisor of Identifai-Genetics, an Israeli bioinformatics company developing AI-based software for noninvasive prenatal DNA sequencing. She is the former chief medical officer of Natera and a former professor of clinical obstetrics and gynecology, as well as pediatrics and genetics, at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Unilabs: Marc Engel, Gilbert Achermann
Marc Engel has been appointed CEO of Unilabs. He replaces Michiel Boehmer, who stepped down from the post in March. Engel had been interim executive chairman of the company since April 1 and chairman of Unilab's board since July 2022. He spent more than 30 years in commercial and operational roles, including as chief supply chain officer at Unilever. Gilbert Achermann is replacing Engel as board chairman. He was CEO and, before that, CFO of Straumann Group.
For additional recent items on executive appointments, promotions, and departures in the omics and molecular diagnostics space, please see the People in the News page on our website.