Chris Smith
Chief Executive Officer
Chris joins NeoGenomics from OrthoClinical Diagnostics where he served as Chairman and CEO from 2019 to May of 2022. During his leadership, OrthoClinical raised $1.45 billion in funding in a Q1 2021 initial public offering and achieved accelerated revenue growth from 1% annually to low double-digit levels while simultaneously improving profitability. Chris also successfully guided the company through a combination with Quidel that closed in May 2022.
Prior to OrthoClinical, Chris served in key executive leadership positions at Cochlear Limited, a global market leader in implantable hearing solutions with over $1.2 billion in annual revenue. Having initially joined Cochlear as President of Cochlear Americas in 2004, Chris helped grow division revenue from $80 million to over $400 million before being named CEO in 2015. During his tenure as CEO from 2015 to 2018, Chris oversaw a 35% organic improvement in annual revenues and improved profitability.
Jeffrey Sherman
Chief Financial Officer
Jeff has over 32 years of finance experience in the healthcare services industry, having gained a well-rounded background from serving in finance roles at public companies of different sizes and at different growth stages in their lifecycle. While he has most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of Privia Health Group, Inc., a national physician enablement company, Jeff has also served as the Chief Financial Officer at three other organizations: HMS, a technology analytics and engagement solutions provider for government and commercial healthcare payers; AccentCare, a multi-state community-based healthcare delivery organization; and LIFEPOINT Health, a non-urban private hospital company operating 72 hospitals. Jeff also held various finance roles of increasing scope and responsibility at Tenet Healthcare Corporation.
Jeff received a B.A. in Finance/Accounting from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and an MBA from the University of Southern California.
When not working, he enjoys running, biking outside, hiking, and skiing with his family.
Melody Harris
Chief Operations Officer & President, Informatics
Melody Harris joined NeoGenomics in December of 2022. She is serving as President of Enterprise Operations. Prior to that Melody was with SomaLogic and served as President and Chief Operating Officer. She oversaw life sciences markets, healthcare markets, marketing and product, operations, technology, legal and HR. Ms. Harris assisted the CEO in day-to-day management of the company both internally and external, with full P&L responsibility.
Prior to SomaLogic, Ms. Harris held executive positions in the healthcare space for Qualcomm Life (the healthcare division of Qualcomm) and HealthyCircles, a technology spin-out from Microsoft which she and team successfully sold to Qualcomm in 2013. At Qualcomm, Ms. Harris led corporate deals and M&A transactions and worked extensively across Qualcomm in leading the integration efforts of those acquisitions. Ms. Harris has led deals across the healthcare spectrum including with Merck, Telus Health Solutions, United Health Group, Novartis, Surescripts, CVS and the American Heart Association to name a few.
Prior to HealthyCircles, Ms. Harris held a variety of other executive, operational and legal leadership roles, including president of an international consumer-focused brand management firm, and executive vice president of an international software development and consulting firm in the broadcasting space.
Ms. Harris has served in multiple community and public roles including as a trustee of Metropolitan State University of Denver (gubernatorial appointment), director of the Stapleton Development Corporation (mayoral appointment), member of two Colorado gubernatorial transition committees, policy advisor to Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and member of his transition team, and energy policy advisor and lead writer of the Bill Ritter for Governor campaign’s New Energy Economy white paper in 2006.
Ms. Harris holds a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in Political Science from the University of Denver and a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from the Harvard Law School. Her full profile is available at www.linkedin.com/in/melody-harris-175b7ba.
Warren Stone
Chief Commercial Officer
Warren C. Stone is a distinguished executive leader in the life sciences and diagnostics industry, bringing more than two decades of transformative leadership experience to the healthcare sector. Throughout his career with industry leaders including Merck KGaA, Germany, and Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, he has consistently demonstrated an exceptional ability to drive sustainable profitable growth and operational excellence across global markets.
As a strategic thought leader, Mr. Stone has developed and executed numerous successful business transformation initiatives, leveraging his deep understanding of the life sciences and diagnostics landscape. His international business acumen has been instrumental in expanding market presence and optimizing performance across diverse geographical regions.
Known for his authentic leadership style, Warren fosters an environment of innovation and collaboration, while maintaining unwavering commitment to integrity in all business practices. His approach to leadership emphasizes building diverse teams, developing talent, and creating sustainable growth strategies that deliver measurable results. Throughout his career, Warren has remained dedicated to advancing the field of diagnostics and life sciences, contributing to innovations that have made significant impacts in healthcare delivery and patient outcomes. His vision continues to be focused on driving strategic growth while improving equity of cancer care, delivering the highest standards of operational excellence and adhering to ethical business practices.
Mr. Stone holds an MBA from Suffolk University, which complements his extensive practical experience in the field. His educational background and hands-on leadership experience have equipped him with a comprehensive understanding of both the technical and business aspects of the life sciences industry.
Gary Passman
Chief Culture Officer
Gary Passman, Chief Culture Officer at NeoGenomics, is responsible for Neo’s strategy regarding its most important asset – its people. Cultivating an engaging culture focused on how the company works in support of all teammates and customers is critical to Neo’s success.
Gary has over 20 years of experience across several disciplines within the People & Culture, or Human Resources, function with both regional and global responsibilities. He joined Neo in early 2023. Prior to joining Neo, he held numerous business partner and specialty area positions within HR across Johnson & Johnson. Most recently Gary was the Head of Global People & Culture for Ortho Clinical Diagnostics from 2019 to 2022/
He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics, as well as a master’s degree in human resource management, from Rutgers University.
Hutan Hashemi
Chief Compliance Officer
Hutan most recently served as Chief Compliance Officer at Progenity, Inc., a women's health diagnostics company. A strategic and tactical executive, he counseled all levels of the organization, including the Board of Directors and executive management, on legal, compliance, and privacy issues facing the life sciences and biotech industry. Before joining Progenity in 2019, Mr. Hashemi was the Chief Compliance Officer at Genoptix, Inc., before the merger with NeoGenomics in 2018. Earlier in Hutan's legal career, he worked in private practice at law firms advising real estate and financial clients on a wide range of commercial, regulatory, corporate, litigation, and intellectual property matters.
Hutan's experience and background accentuate our unwavering commitment to achieving high compliance standards across our organization.
Dr. Andrew Lukowiak
Chief Innovation Officer
Dr. Andrew Lukowiak, Chief Innovation Officer serves as Neo’s Chief Innovation Officer (CIO). With nearly 25 years of experience in the clinical diagnostics industry, Andrew brings a wealth of experience, specializing in developing strategic programs and processes to introduce innovative, regulated products to market.
As CIO, Andrew will lead our new Office of Innovation, driving cutting-edge research and development while ensuring continuous advancement and integration of new technologies. He will also oversee our Quality, Regulatory, and Clinical Studies teams. Most recently, he served as President and Chief Scientific Officer at TalisBiomedical, overseeing the menu expansion of the TalisOne™ platform. Prior to that, Andrew was the Chief Scientific Officer at Epigenomics AG, where he led the development of its next-generation blood-based colorectal cancer screening test. Earlier, as CEO of Millennium Health, a specialty CLIA laboratory, he successfully guided the organization through a strategic repositioning to drive future growth and success. Andrew has also held senior leadership roles at molecular diagnostics companies, including AltheaDx, GenMark Dx, Hologic, and Third Wave Technologies.
Andrew earned a B.S. in Biology from Penn State University and a Ph.D. in Genetics from the University of Georgia.
Ali Olivo
Executive Vice President, General Counsel & Business Development
Ali Olivo has been serving as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Business Development since January 1, 2024.
Ms. Olivo has more than 15 years of corporate business, M&A and legal expertise. She has been with NeoGenomics for five years representing NeoGenomics in acquisitions, as well as fundraising and governance activities. At Neo, she has also represented the company in various regulatory matters, including before CAP, OCR, and the OIG.
Prior to joining NeoGenomics, Ms. Olivo served as a Director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, negotiating incentives for numerous Fortune 500 clients. Ms. Olivo also spent many years at General Electric in various roles of increasing scope and responsibility, including Counsel, where she oversaw incentives negotiations, tax controversy, and government affairs.
Ali holds a B.A. from the University of Florida and a J.D. from Marquette University Law School
Kareem Saad
Head of Strategy and Transformation
Most recently, Kareem served as Chief Transformation Officer at GeneDx, responsible for driving corporate strategy, corporate development, and emerging business initiatives to further accelerate the company’s growth. Prior to that, Kareem served as Chief Strategy Officer at Sema4, leading the development of their long term plan, spearheading their capital formation efforts and eventually helping to take the company public in 2021 before leading the merger with GeneDx to transform the company into a leading rare disease diagnostic testing company.
Prior to joining Sema4, Kareem was President and Chief Operating Officer at Apervita, Inc., overseeing its transformation to a product- and value-based care and quality measurement technology company. Kareem previously served as Chief Commercial Officer/EVP of Strategy and Business Development at SourceMed, a PE-backed healthcare IT and services company focused on delivering practice management technology solutions to the outpatient market, where he led a series of transactions that culminated in the sale and merger of the company with Surgical Information Systems.
Kareem also served as a Director in Dell’s Healthcare and Life Sciences division where he was responsible for managing a $180 million healthcare partner program. Before that, he held a number of executive roles in biotech and healthcare technology startups as well as leading the Information Based Medicine Commercial Group at IBM’s Healthcare Life Sciences group helping grow that business to $100 million in less than five years.
Kareem holds a BSc in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with a minor in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia and an MBA with a concentration in Economics and Finance from the University of Chicago.
Dr. Nate Montgomery
Vice President, Medical Services
Dr. Montgomery is the Vice President of Medical Services and the Medical Director for the NeoGenomics North Carolina laboratory. Dr. Montgomery joined NeoGenomics as the Director of Molecular Pathology Services in 2023, before taking on this current role in August 2024. Prior to joining NeoGenomics, he was a molecular pathologist and medical director at Tempus Laboratories and, prior to that, Director of Molecular Hematopathology at the University of North Carolina.
Dr. Montgomery received his MD and PhD degrees from the University of North Carolina, where he also completed anatomic and clinical pathology residency training, as well as hematopathology and molecular genetic pathology fellowship training. He has authored over 60 peer-reviewed manuscripts and served on a number of national committees, including with the Association for Molecular Pathology and the American Society for Clinical Pathology.