Quest hires Mayo Clinic doctor as chief lab officer

Quest Diagnostics, a diagnostic laboratory company headquartered in Madison, N.J., has hired Dr. Franklin Cockerill III as chief laboratory officer, effective Oct. 1.

Most recently, Cockerill, 62, was the chairman of Mayo Clinic's department of laboratory medicine and pathology and CEO of Mayo Medical Laboratories, a global lab subsidiary of Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo. Mayo Medical Laboratories has more than 3,200 employees and conducts 20 million lab tests annually for more than 4,000 hospitals, according to its website.

In his new role, Cockerill oversees all quality, medical and technological operations within Quest's lab network, which the company says serves about half of all U.S. hospitals and physicians. Cockerill is also expected to help with other medical, academic and governmental issues.

“Few individuals in healthcare possess Frank's impressive record of successful leadership in business, clinical and academic roles,” Steve Rusckowski, Quest CEO, said in a release. “We will benefit greatly from his tremendous talents.”

Cockerill, board-certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases, replaces Dr. Stephen Suffin. Suffin is retiring from Quest at the end of the year but will hold a consulting position through 2015.

Quest's earnings have slipped lately, as the lab operator has had to contend with increased competition from hospitals and sluggish testing volumes.

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