Moving Bako Diagnostics Forward
Our leadership team is a group of laboratory and medical professionals dedicated to the advancement of diagnostic testing and its impact to better patient care.
Laurence McCarthy, Ph.D. is the Executive Chairman of Bako Diagnostics. He has extensive management experience in healthcare companies. Dr. McCarthy led the growth and development of Focus Diagnostics, which grew from a small regional reference laboratory into a market-leading national specialty reference laboratory national that was sold to Quest Diagnostics in 2006. Following this he joined Ampersand Capital Partners as an Operating Partner. He has served as Executive Chairman of Viracor-IBT Laboratories, of PrimeraDx and of Bako Integrated Physician Solutions (2013-2015). Dr. McCarthy also has served on the Boards of multiple healthcare companies that include Dynex Technologies, Magellan Diagnostics, OpGen and Genoptix (2009-2011). He rejoined the Board of Genoptix in 2017. Prior to Focus, Mr. McCarthy held senior executive positions at Becton Dickinson & Co. and Boehringer Mannheim Diagnostics. Dr. McCarthy holds a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of New Hampshire and has served on the faculties of Cornell Medical College, the University of North Carolina Schools of Medicine and Public Health, and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Ted Hull serves as the Chief Executive Officer at Bako Diagnostics. Mr. Hull, who joined Bako Diagnostics in August 2018, brings with him 27 years of healthcare industry experience. Mr. Hull has held several executive positions in the diagnostic market, leading both US and global laboratories to their peak growth periods. He began his career in public accounting at Deloitte, and later moved into healthcare managing finance, operations, and investments before being appointed to Chairman and CEO for leading diagnostic laboratories. Mr. Hull holds a Bachelor of Science in Economics from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He resides in North Carolina with his wife and four children.
Since May of 2012, Mr. Dan Spragle has been leading Bako Diagnostics as our President and Chief Operating Officer. His knowledge and experience related to the complexities of reference laboratory services has served Bako Diagnostics well. Within his first year at Bako Diagnostics, Mr. Spragle was able to make improvements to work flow, infrastructure, and information technology functions. His leadership has enhanced the efforts of Bako Diagnostics’s Executive Management Team.
Prior to joining Bako Diagnostics, Mr. Spragle served as the Executive Vice President and COO of Physicians Reference Laboratory (“PRL”), a regional, clinical reference laboratory with 450 employees and 25 pathologists. Prior to his 10 year tenure at PRL, he spent 10 years at Accenture performing process consulting.
Mr. Spragle is a graduate of Luther College with a Bachelor of Arts in Management Information Systems, as well as an MBA from the University of Missouri.
Dr. Wayne Bakotic began his medical training with early acceptance into Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine where he completed his bachelor’s degree through his podiatric medical studies. Prior to graduation, Dr. Bakotic left his podiatry training to initiate studies in Osteopathic medicine at Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine. It was, however, his time at Barry University which set the stage for his interest in podiatric pathology. After graduating with honors and completing his Doctor of Osteopath in 1998, Dr. Bakotic continued his journey at Emory University School of Medicine where he gained training in anatomic and clinical pathology. He remained at Emory University to complete fellowship training in surgical pathology, Cytopathology and Dermatopathology. He is currently board certified in anatomic pathology, clinical pathology, and Dermatopathology.
Mr. Scott Bakotic joined Bako Diagnostics in 2011. Previously, he was the CFO and Chief Administrative Officer of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office in Tallahassee, Florida where, he oversaw and set strategic initiatives for all administrative departments. Prior to LCSO, Mr. Bakotic worked for Law, Redd, Crona & Monroe, CPAs as an auditor and tax practitioner. Scott holds a B.S. in Accounting from Florida State University and is a CPA.
Ms. Shawna Shapero has been with Bako Diagnostics since the founding of our organization. She has a genuine interest in the laboratory profession that began at Monsignor Clement Kern Hospital for Special Surgery and with her continuous involvement within the laboratory industry throughout her career.
Ms. Shapero has developed a deep understanding of our clients’ needs and, along with her core skills, laboratory experience and relationships, she is invaluable to our operation. Her experience in the laboratory arena spans almost 40 years, including leadership roles with Kern Hospital in the Detroit area, Maryland Medical Laboratory, Quest Diagnostics, and Dermpath Diagnostics/Ameripath.
Since our early start-up days, Ms. Shapero has served as our dynamic and creative Director of Marketing and in November of 2017 she was promoted to Vice President, Corporate and Professional Relations. Her passion is to enhance our dermatopathology service offerings through support and growth of the professionals we serve and our family of employees.
Ms. Shapero, a life-long learner, studied Health Care Administration at Oakland Community College and Business Administration at Wayne State University in Detroit, MI.
Lilly Kong joined Bako Diagnostics as Vice President of Research and Development in June 2021. Prior to joining Bako, Ms. Kong served as PrimeraDx’s CSO, where she led the development of an innovative molecular real-time multiplex platform that successfully gained FDA clearance for clinical diagnosis. For two decades, she served at Quest/Focus Diagnostics, including as VP of R&D, where she directed research and development activities to generate novel laboratory assays and diagnostic products. As a consultant, she helped Bako expand diagnostic services by establishing molecular clinical testing systems, capabilities and assays.
She graduated from the School of Veterinary Medicine at National Taiwan University and received her MS degree in Veterinary Microbiology at Auburn University. She had her postdoctoral fellowship training in the Hematology/Retrovirology Department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.