Catching up with QuidelOrtho’s Nick Riordan, 2015 Excellence in Sales Award Winner
Nick Riordan has stayed active and engaged in his work since receiving the Excellence in Sales Award in 2015, taking on new responsibilities and continuing to build on his success.
When Riordan was first honored with the Excellence in Sales Award 10 years ago, he was working as sales representative for Welch Allyn. In 2016, Riordan and his wife Amy moved from Virginia back to Texas with their 11-month-old twins, Saylor and Cannon. At the time, Riordan had returned to his role at Welch Allyn as a local account manager; and later that year, the family welcomed their third child, Landry Mae.
In 2020, after completing 15 rewarding years with Welch Allyn, Riordan decided to expand his knowledge of the lab space, taking a leap in his career and joining Quidel as a channel sales manager.
Repertoire Magazine recently caught up with Riordan on key industry trends and challenges, his family, career, and more.
Understanding the lab business
Riordan’s former career at Welch Allyn was influential, shaping his professional development and providing a strong introduction to the expertise needed in the medical industry.
“I had the privilege of working alongside some of the most talented representatives and managers in the business during my time working under the Allyn family’s leadership – each of whom played a role in shaping my growth,” said Riordan. “Innovative technology, along with the culture and people, made the transition to the lab space a perfect fit for me.”
Professionally, Riordan’s focus has been on strengthening relationships with both QuidelOrtho’s distribution partners and his internal team.
“I now have the pleasure of working with one of my best friends, Ryan Credeur, and reporting to Saundra Savage, who taught me what it truly means to be a strategic liaison to our distribution partners,” said Riordan. “I’ve also been fortunate to learn from incredible colleagues like Mike Muschinsky, Scott Muller, and Anne McCarthy – who is now my coach – as I continue to grow my understanding of the lab side of the business.”
The lab space tackles pandemic urgency
Riordan began his career at Quidel during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, right as the company launched the first instrument-read SARS assay. The demand for respiratory testing significantly increased during the pandemic, with the lab industry seeing an unprecedented surge in new customers starting in early 2020. Supply and demand, noted Riordan, was an overlying theme across all medical manufacturing during the time.
“The pandemic era truly felt like the Wild West,” said Riordan. “Fast forward to 2025, and many customers are still trying to recapture that volume of testing. They’re looking for cost-saving solutions and new tests with strong reimbursement potential to help them regain the growth they experienced from 2020 to 2022. That’s why introducing solutions that directly impact those areas – cost and revenue – is a win-win for both the customer and the supplier.”
Customers in the lab space are now more informed consumers than ever because of technology such as AI, Google, Amazon, and the sheer speed of information, said Riordan. Manufacturers and distributors now must go beyond product pitches and find meaningful ways to add value – whether through cost savings, improved financial outcomes, time efficiency, or workflow optimization.
What hasn’t changed, however, is the importance of maintaining and nurturing industry-wide relationships, said Riordan.
“In our business, relationships and transparent communication remain the golden rules – especially as manufacturers and distributors work to grow together,” he said. “Five years ago, I was part of a team focused on building stronger, more meaningful relationships with our distribution partners. That strategy has been a catalyst for deeper collaboration and long-term growth across the channel.”
An evolving industry landscape
Riordan’s family eventually settled in Prosper, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, where they live today. He continues to view distribution partners as the lab’s primary customers, focusing on building strong, collaborative relationships with them.
“The industry is evolving at a pace we’ve never seen before, and with that comes a level of uncertainty for both manufacturers and distribution partners,” said Riordan. “There’s a major shift happening – particularly in distribution – with a wave of new faces and still-evolving compensation models.”
Riordan’s ongoing goal is to stand out in the industry and remain top of mind with customers – a mindset he calls the “koozie mentality,” focused on consistently amplifying reach and relevance with end-user audiences.
“One thing we know for sure: change is inevitable,” said Riordan. “And the way manufacturers and distributors collaborate is going to look very different moving forward. Staying ahead of these changes is key to continuing to deliver value to our customers.”
“Family is everything to my wife and I – we love spending time with friends and watching our kids thrive in their favorite sports,” said Riordan. “Saylor is into competitive cheer, Cannon plays baseball and football, and Landry is our little soccer star. Amy and I both enjoy coaching and embracing the chaos of this active chapter in our lives.”