Meet the Team Behind the Strategy
Our Leadership
Colin brings deep industry practice and leadership experience in scaling high-growth genomic and diagnostic businesses. At Illumina, he architected the scaling of the sequencing consumables business from $7M to nearly $1B, overseeing 35 major product launches over six year period. Later, as Head of Global Product Management at QIAGEN, he led the Life Sciences Assay portfolio and guided key strategic acquisitions. At Chrysalis, Colin advises innovators and investors on product-market fit, commercial scaling, and M&A integration, helping clients translate technical breakthroughs into sustainable market dominance.
FOCUS AREAS: cell & gene therapies, single cell 'omics, synthetic biology, corporate portfolio planning, market landscaping
Colin A. Baron, MBA
Rob brings deep market, commercial, and strategic experience to the Chrysalis team. Before co-founding Chrysalis Biomedical Advisors, he spent nearly a decade at Illumina in senior marketing roles, building investment cases and market-specific solutions across forensics, genetic disease, reproductive health, oncology, and agrigenomics. He also led the Actionable Genome Consortium, uniting leading cancer centers to define standards for clinical NGS tumor sequencing. Earlier, Rob held strategic and commercial roles at Applied Biosystems, Agilent Technologies, and Front Line Strategic Management Consulting.
FOCUS AREAS: oncology diagnostics, PCR & dPCR technologies, laboratory automation, pharma development, infectious disease, market & revenue forecasting, agrigenomics, forensic genomics.
Robert D. Cohen, MBA
Rob brings more than 20 years of commercial leadership in sequencing and single-cell technologies. He joined Illumina shortly after the Solexa acquisition and helped grow the sequencing business from $5M to $500M, managing the Genome Analyzer line and later guiding the development and launch of MiSeq. He went on to lead product management for the UG 100 platform at Ultima Genomics ahead of its 2022 launch, and most recently served as Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at Complete Genomics. At Chrysalis, Rob advises clients on product definition, launch strategy, and commercialization across NGS, single-cell, and spatial markets.
FOCUS AREAS: single cell analysis, spatial genomics, product management, launch strategy, commercial roadmapping
Rob M. Tarbox, MBA
Colin A. Baron, MBA
Drawing on over 15 years experience in genomics discovery and translational research, Colin co-founded Chrysalis Biomedical Advisors in 2016. Prior to Chrysalis, Colin served as Senior Director, Head of Global Product Management at QIAGEN and was responsible for driving development, commercial strategy, and marketing for Next Generation Sequencing and Single Cell platforms.
Previously, Colin held numerous positions at Illumina, joining the former Solexa team shortly after its acquisition. During his 6-year tenure, he managed the company’s NGS sequencing chemistry portfolio and led over 35 major sequencing platform launches, ranging from the the Genome Analyzer II to the NextSeq and HiSeq X10 systems. He also designed and developed Clinical & Translational products for Illumina’s BeadXpress Diagnostic platform, as well as Illumina’s premium line of LDT-focused sequencing products.
Prior to Illumina, Colin held several Academic Core Lab management positions at UC Davis, including bioinformatics analysis and clinical tissue and serum biobanking for an NCI-designated Biobank. Colin graduated from UC Davis in 2001 with a double major in Microbiology and Economics. He earned his MBA from the UC Davis Graduate School of Management in 2008.
Colin is an avid traveler, enjoys British dramatic theatre, and loves having his German pronunciation corrected by his 3 year old son.
Robert D. Cohen, MBA
Rob has been in the Life Sciences industry for more than 20 years. He co-founded Chrysalis Biomedical Advisors after 15+ years in product marketing and business development leadership positions at Applied Biosystems, Agilent Technologies, and Illumina. Rob has worked extensively with customers, commercial and R&D teams to identify, justify, launch and support new products and services across basic and applied markets.
Most recently, Rob led a team to design and launch Illumina’s Propel Core Lab certification program, in addition to leading the Actionable Genome Consortium – a high-profile, global effort to define standards for clinical tumor sequencing.
Prior to joining industry, Rob spent two years at Front Line Strategic Management Consulting (now Navigant Consulting) servicing life science and biopharmaceutical clients. Additionally, he spent 4 years as a senior molecular biology technician at UCLA characterizing mouse models of lipid metabolism and running the core lab, and at the University of Wisconsin’s McArdle Laboratory for Cancer Research.
Rob graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science. He earned his MBA from the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business in 1999 with a focus in Entrepreneurship and Strategic Human Resource Management.
Rob enjoys spending time with his family and playing any sport with a racquet or club.
Rob Tarbox, MBA
After more than 20 years in genomics and life science tools, Rob joined Chrysalis Biomedical Advisors. Throughout his career, Rob has helped define, launch, and commercialize some of the most influential sequencing and single-cell technologies in the industry.
Prior to joining Chrysalis, Rob served as Vice President of Product Management and Marketing at Complete Genomics, where he led product strategy and marketing for the company’s sequencing and spatial genomics portfolio. He was responsible for product roadmap, market positioning, corporate branding, and commercialization initiatives designed to expand adoption of Complete Genomics technologies.
Previously, Rob was Head of Product Management at Ultima Genomics, where he led product management for the UG 100 sequencing platform and helped prepare the company for its public emergence from stealth in 2022. He worked across R&D, commercial teams, and key opinion leaders to define requirements for the sequencer, workflow, software, and data analysis and to close critical product gaps ahead of commercialization. The UG 100 was subsequently named one of The Scientist’s top innovations of 2022.
Previously, Rob held leadership roles at Genapsys, Berkeley Lights, and 10x Genomics. In these positions, he worked closely with customers, commercial teams, and R&D organizations to define product requirements, shape development priorities, and drive commercialization strategies for next-generation sequencing and single-cell analysis platforms. He played key roles in the launch of multiple innovative genomics products, several of which were recognized among the industry’s most significant technological advances.
Earlier in his career, Rob joined Illumina shortly after its acquisition of Solexa and helped drive the rapid growth of the company’s sequencing business from $5M to $500M during a pivotal period in the development of next-generation sequencing. He managed the Genome Analyzer product line, led multiple major product enhancements, and later guided the development and launch of the MiSeq System. The MiSeq became one of the most successful sequencing platforms in the industry, with more than 10,000 systems installed worldwide and generating >$400M annually.
Rob began his commercial career at Applied Biosystems, where he contributed to the company’s early next-generation sequencing platform and managed successful reagent and assay product lines serving both research and clinical markets.
Rob holds a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from the University of California, Davis, and an MBA in Marketing from the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
Outside of work, Rob enjoys traveling, spending time with his family, and exploring music of all kinds.
Our Affiliates
Jordan D. Stockton, Ph.D.
Pranil K. Chandra, D.O.
Glenn George D.Sc., MS, MLS (ASCP)
Steven Lee, Ph.D.
Bruce Quinn, MD-Ph.D, MBA
Michael S. Sherman, MD, MBA, MS
Jennifer Gardy, Ph.D.
Arshad Ahmed, MBA
David Kern, MBA, RAC
