Staffing Advisors is proud to have partnered with the Association for Diagnostics & Laboratory Medicine (ADLM) in the selection of its Chief Executive Officer, Melanie J. Wells. ADLM is a $24MM global scientific and medical professional organization dedicated to clinical laboratory science and its application to healthcare. ADLM serves over 5000 members and operates with approximately 60 staff. Read ADLM’s full announcement here.

“Melanie brings more than two decades of leadership across global health, nonprofit management, and the scientific community. What stood out most to the search committee was her balanced, relationship-driven approach to leading organizations through growth, change, and long-term strategy. The ADLM board of directors is confident that Melanie’s leadership will align with the work that ADLM members and staff have already set in motion and that she will help us continue building an ADLM that is stronger, more agile, and more connected to the needs of our members and the public.”

— ADLM President Dr. Paul J. Jannetto

About the Search for ADLM’s Next CEO

After a deep discovery process to identify the organization’s most critical business issues and strategic priorities, Staffing Advisors sought a chief executive officer with a proven record of success in business model innovation, revenue growth, and change management to ensure the association’s long-term financial sustainability and increase relevance, reach, and impact in the U.S. and internationally. The leader would be stepping into an organization with a new 5-year strategic plan, a leadership team relatively new to working together, and a recent rebranding that hadn’t yet been fully realized.

The search was led by Staffing Advisors Founder & President Bob Corlett, with the support of Vice President of Operations and Strategy Brooke Lockhart and the entire Staffing Advisors team.

Working closely with the search committee, board, and key stakeholders, Staffing Advisors surfaced several key focus areas in which the new leader would drive impact. A summary of each is listed below:

  • Advocacy and Awareness. Serve as an effective spokesperson for ADLM’s advocacy priorities on Capitol Hill, with global partners, and among peer organizations. Position ADLM as a leading voice on key issues and provide strategic direction for expanding partnerships with aligned organizations and increasing the impact of advocacy communications, scientific activities, and clinical policy.
  • Board Governance. Monitor the evolving diagnostics and laboratory medicine field, including regulatory changes and technological advancements, to surface potential challenges and opportunities. Provide data-driven recommendations to help the board focus on decisions that matter most.
  • Business Model Innovation. Oversee the annual budget, manage and optimize existing revenue streams, and work with the Senior Management Team to identify, evaluate, and launch revenue-generating initiatives that reduce dependence on the Annual Meeting. Ensure all initiatives are based on solid business principles, developed with a clear business case, informed by market research, and supported by realistic financial projections.
  • Meetings, Events, and Education. Work closely with the Senior Management Team to oversee the planning and execution of ADLM’s Annual Meeting and Clinical Lab Expo, conferences, and symposiums. Explore opportunities to evolve and expand ADLM’s event and education portfolio to align with shifting audience expectations, emerging scientific and industry trends, and increasing global collaboration.
  • Membership Value and Expansion. Enhance member value through a data-driven, segmented approach that serves ADLM’s core base of PhDs and MDs while expanding appeal to a broader range of laboratory medicine and industry professionals at all career stages, both domestically and internationally. Build on the momentum of the 2023 rebrand to strengthen ADLM’s value proposition, amplify its influence in the field, attract new audiences, and support credibility globally.
  • Staff Leadership and Operations. Provide hands-on executive leadership to guide staff through change and foster a culture of high performance, accountability, and innovation, while mentoring and promoting development opportunities. Explore ways to improve internal efficiency, add capacity, and ensure operational sustainability through technology, including data analytics and AI.
  • Strategic Plan Implementation. Partner with the board to execute the goals, tactics, and metrics in the 2024-2029 strategic plan and key performance indicators. Oversee and collaborate with the Senior Management Team to advance strategic priorities, including establishing ADLM as the home for data science in laboratory medicine and developing a global strategy that integrates across all areas of influence and service delivery.

The Staffing Advisors team was honored to support ADLM in this important leadership transition. Prior to Melanie Wells’s appointment, we partnered with ADLM on several key roles, including a Chief Membership and Market Development Officer and a Chief Financial Officer.