Slone Partners Finds New CEO for SomaLogic
December 3, 2018 – Healthcare is among the most rapidly growing employment fields, according to analysts at Hunt Scanlon Media, which tracks trends in the executive search and leadership solutions space.
This has led to an increased need for recruiting firms to deliver top-drawer leaders throughout the sector.
Executive search firm Slone Partners recently placed Roy Smythe as CEO of biomarker discovery and clinical diagnostics company SomaLogic Inc. in Boulder, CO. He replaces Alister Reynolds, who led the organization since early 2017.
“SomaLogic’s pioneering technology in proteomics represents the future of diagnostics and the power of personalized approaches,” said Tara Kochis-Stach, president of Slone Partners. “Dr. Smythe’s expansive career in healthcare – from startups to hospital systems, from university research centers to innovation-driven multinationals – brings the rare, holistic experience, insight and thoughtfulness to SomaLogic that will support the long-term vision and growth of the company.”
Larry Gold, founder and chairman of the board of SomaLogic, said Dr. Smythe is an ideal choice for the role. “As SomaLogic draws closer to our goal of being a global leader in health information, we must continue to expand our leadership with people who not only passionately share but further expand our vision,” he said. “Roy’s broad experience in clinical medicine, healthcare delivery systems and health informatics — and his deep compassion and empathy for humanity — are exactly what we need at this critical time of commercial transition.”
Medically-Trained Veteran
A trained surgeon and former translational scientist, Dr. Smythe previously worked at Royal Philips, where he served as chief medical officer for strategy and partnerships. Before that, he was CMO at Valence Health, a Chicago-based healthcare company. He held the same title in a previous role at AVIA, a healthcare technology accelerator. Dr. Smythe’s medical and research career began at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. He subsequently chaired the surgery departments at Baylor Scott & White Health as well as the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine, where he was also medical director of innovation before moving into broader roles in healthcare delivery.
In his new position, Dr. Smythe is responsible for strategically developing, commercializing, scaling and fund-raising for the company. He will be based in Boulder and report to SomaLogic’s board of directors, including founder Dr. Gold.
“For many years, my goal has been to leverage emerging technologies to significantly improve healthcare so that every person can have the best quality of life possible — for as long as possible,” said Dr. Smythe. “With its unique resources, SomaLogic is a company with an incredibly rare opportunity to do just that, and I am eager and excited to help lead that audacious effort.”
Search Process
Over the last 20 years, Dr. Smythe has worked with numerous large search firms, either as a client or candidate. “What stood out about working with Slone Partners was the incredible attention to consistent and timely communication during the process,” he said. “When being evaluated for a leadership role at this level – meeting with executives, employees, board members, and others – having Slone Partners as ‘air traffic control’ during the process was most appreciated.”
Tapping Outside Talent for Life Science and Healthcare
For these top 50 executive recruiters working in the life science and healthcare sectors, the last decade has been one of transformation. Pressure on pricing, regulatory changes, emerging innovations, growth, and an uncertain political environment have all helped shape a new field of play.
| Top 50 Ranking |
With 200 employees worldwide, SomaLogic is a leader in the nascent and cutting-edge world of proteomics, the study and measurement of proteins, to create a more impactful deployment of precision medicine and personalized medicine. Using advanced proprietary technological breakthroughs that leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning, the organization currently measures some 5,000 human proteins out of nearly 20,000 proteins in the human proteome. SomaLogic is focusing on these as potential early warning systems for disease.
Slone Partners is a nationally recognized senior-level recruitment provider that specializes in delivering executive, management and leadership talent for the diagnostic, biopharmaceutical, healthcare information technology and laboratory testing industries. The firm has offices in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C. and San Francisco. Recently, Slone Partners was included among Hunt Scanlon Media’s “Top 50 Healthcare & Life Sciences Search Firms.”
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media
