Natera hands the CEO job to a 15-year insider as revenue jumps 34%

Natera's new chief executive has been at the company since 2011. Solomon Moshkevich took over as CEO and joined the board on 5 November, with Steve Chapman stepping down and staying on as a consultant and adviser to the board, according to the leadership announcement. The cell-free DNA testing company reported third-quarter results the same day: revenue of $794.0 million, up 34.1% on a year earlier.

Who's taking over

Moshkevich is about as home-grown as a CEO gets. Over roughly 15 years he has run teams across global marketing, product management, medical and scientific affairs, commercial operations, international sales and business development, and regulatory and quality. He was Natera's first General Manager of Oncology and, most recently, President of Clinical Diagnostics. He also played a big part in bringing Panorama, Prospera and Signatera to market.

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"I hired Solomon in 2011, and he's been an integral part of our success ever since." Steve Chapman, outgoing CEO, Natera

Executive Chairman and co-founder Matthew Rabinowitz credited Chapman with leading the company's growth in women's health and its push into oncology and organ health. On the earnings call, Moshkevich told analysts "You are not going to see any big radical change", according to a call summary, with the focus staying on customer service, clinical data and product development.

The numbers

Natera processed about 1,093,100 tests in the quarter, up 22.3%. Oncology is where the acceleration is: about 339,500 oncology tests, up 60.9% from roughly 211,000 a year earlier. The net loss narrowed to $59.9 million from $87.5 million, and the company finished September with about $1,097.2 million in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash.

Full-year revenue guidance now sits at $3.005 billion to $3.035 billion, up from $2.850 billion to $2.910 billion. The release names headcount growth to support new products as one reason operating costs are rising, and the top of the SG&A range moves up to $1.3 billion from $1.225 billion. CFO Michael Brophy put that down to pharma services, clinical trials, legal costs and commercial initiatives.

What's next

The call summary lists a busy pipeline: launch preparations in Japan for colorectal and muscle-invasive bladder cancer, an FDA breakthrough device designation in October for its multi-cancer early detection assay, and full enrolment of the 30,000-patient premarket approval cohort in its FIND study, with a colorectal readout targeted for 2027. Management also set out a goal of roughly $6 billion in annual revenue by 2029.

The bigger picture

Promoting the person who built the oncology franchise tells you where Natera thinks the next leg of growth comes from. A company that is aiming for roughly double this year's revenue by 2029, and is preparing new markets and new tests at the same time, will be building teams on several fronts at once.

What it means for hiring

An insider CEO usually means continuity at the top, but the people who report to a newly promoted leader often get reshuffled. Expect some movement in Natera's commercial and clinical diagnostics leadership as Moshkevich's old remit is handed on.
Oncology volumes up 61% and a Japan launch in preparation point to demand for MRD-literate oncology sales reps, medical science liaisons and people who have taken a molecular test into Asia-Pacific markets.
Nine or ten MolDX submissions in progress, per the call summary, keep reimbursement and market access specialists among the most valuable hires in the space, in our view.

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