Chris Gunning

Chris Gunning

Director of Operational Excellence

A2LA

Christopher Gunning is currently the Director of Operational Excellence with the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), where he has been employed since March of 2009. In his current role, Chris is responsible for all technical resources in the association and for ensuring quality of operations in all departments, and at all levels.

This includes management of the assessor corps, the accreditation council, and on-boarding and continual monitoring of A2LA staff members.

Chris served as a General Accreditation Services Manager for 3 years, focusing on the life sciences team.

The 31st Annual Executive War College will be held April 28-29, 2026, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel New Orleans. 

Join our carefully selected line-up of clinical laboratory and pathology leaders, along with your peers, at Executive War College — the premier conference focusing on the best ideas, newest lab technologies, and most innovative management strategies now reshaping the clinical laboratory industry! 

Stay up to date on the latest news about Executive War College, confirmed speakers and topics, and related Dark Report events. Subscribe now!

WHAT OUR ATTENDEES ARE SAYING

"Thank you for the Executive War College. This year was my first opportunity to attend and I was truly impressed with how well it was run, the quality of the speakers, and the accommodations. It is easy to see why attendance is growing every year."

Who Attends the Executive War College

Health Systems and Hospital Clinical Laboratory and Pathology Leadership

Hospital C-Suite Administrators

Laboratory Vice Presidents

Pathology Lab Directors/Administrators

Laboratory Directors

Molecular and Genetic Lab Leaders

Precision Medicine & Genetic Program Directors/Administrators

Laboratory Section Managers/Leaders/Supervisors

Representative Labs:

  • ACL Laboratories/Advocate Health
  • Cleveland Clinic Laboratories
  • Medical University of South Carolina
  • Johns Hopkins Medicine
  • Baptist Health South Florida
  • Banner Health
  • Intermountain Health Outreach Labs
  • Baylor Scott & White Health
  • Cedars Sinai
  • Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center
  • Fabric Genomics
  • Kaiser Permanente

Independent Laboratories and Pathology Groups

Laboratory Owners/C-Suite/Vice Presidents/Directors

Pathology Group Owners/Directors

Pathology Group Practice Administrators

Physician Group Lab Owners/Directors

Public Health/Population Health VP’s/Directors

Life Sciences/Research Labs

Representative Labs:

  • Mayo Clinic Laboratories
  • ARUP (Reference Lab)
  • LabCorp (Reference Lab)
  • TriCore (Reference Lab)
  • GeneDx
  • Sonic Labs (Reference Lab)
  • Michigan Pathology Specialists (Pathologist Group)
  • Pacific Pathology Labs (Pathology Group)
  • NorDX (Animal Reference Lab)
  • Novartis (Research Pharm (Life Sciences)
  • AstraZeneca (Pharm/Life Sciences)
  • Caris Life Sciences (Pharm/Life Sciences)
  • Sonora Quest (Population Health Division)

Partners and Suppliers to Laboratory and Pathology Groups

In Vitro Diagnostic Manufacturers

LIS/Pathology LIS/LIMS/RCM/IT

Diagnostic Instrument, Product & Technology

Informatics Products and Services

Suppliers of Automation, Analyzers, and Assays

Revenue Cycle Management (RCM), Coding, Billing, and Collections

Legal, Regulatory & Compliance

Representative Companies:

  • Abbott (Diagnostics)
  • Epic Corporation (EMR/LIS)
  • Clinisys LIS
  • Cerner LIS
  • Telcor (Technology)
  • XIFIN (Technology/Informatics)
  • LifePoint Informatics
  • Change Health Care (RCM/billing)
  • HC1 (RCM)
  • Diagnostic Laboratory Services, Inc. (RCM)
  • COLA (Regulatory)
  • College of American Pathologists (Regulatory)
  • Beckman Diagnostics (Diagnostics)
  • Bio-Rad Laboratories (Diagnostics)
  • Hologic (Diagnostics)
  • Cardinal Health (Product & Technology)
  • Davis Wright Tremaine LLP (Legal)