As a leader, talent development is Chris Miskel’s favorite activity. “I had a mentor decades ago that always said, ‘grow the people, grow the business,’ he said. “My journey was tremendously influenced and made possible by mentors and champions who dedicated time, provided feedback, and took some risk in creating access to projects and assignments that provided stretch – this is what we do at Versiti.”
Versiti is a world-class blood health organization with a mission of service to improve patient outcomes, advance the field of personalized medicine, and strengthen the health of communities everywhere. From research, clinical care, and diagnostic testing to the sharing of lifesaving gifts through blood, organ, and tissue donation, the collective efforts across Versiti result in more hope for the communities that trust the organization.
As the president and chief executive officer, Miskel has been instrumental in fostering the internship program that has tripled in size in three years. “Since we started these internships, we have built a talent pipeline for full-time hiring that has greatly benefited the organization and also created more stickiness for our mission on campuses in terms of blood collection,” said Miskel.
Miskel, a two-time Titan 100, has also led the growth of the organization with a focus on expanding its reach to save lives in the past three years. “We have done this by prioritizing inorganic growth through acquisition, geographic expansion in our base operations, and delivering innovation in blood products, testing, clinical care, research, and organ & tissue procurement,” he said.
In 2023, the organization acquired Quantigen and Pearl Pathways, both Indianapolis-based life sciences organizations. Geographic expansion of blood collections in Columbus, Ohio; Northern Indiana; the Chicagoland area; and in Southeastern Michigan has allowed the nonprofit to scale collections near hospital systems that are relatively new to Versiti, or in parts of its existing footprint that have been previously underdeveloped.
In addition, under Miskel’s guidance, the organization made structural adjustments that allowed greater decentralized decision-making and made investments to better tailor its approach to connecting with local communities. Versiti revenue has grown by 6%+ annually, outperforming industry benchmarks, to achieve $418 million in revenue in 2023. The nonprofit is on track to exceed $450 million in 2024.
“The last year has validated and clarified the power of maniacal focus combined with uniting the human spirit of like-minded leaders within our organization and the community,” said Miskel.
To reignite his passion as a leader, Miskel said he regularly engages with the healthcare professionals involved in the organ recovery process and begins each meeting with his staff with a mission moment. “We are surrounded by stories of the amazing – where we save the lives you love,” he said. “The faces of our community that get that hope and healing from what we do and courageously share their stories with us keep us connected to our true north.”