Devin Schaffer – GeneDx

He usually hears secondhand of his employer’s accomplishments in genetics testing. Another C-suiter might return from a national conference and tell colleagues of parents who personally thanked GeneDx for helping diagnose their child’s illness.

“I get to live vicariously through these stories,” the mild-mannered and courtly Devin Schaffer tells Vanguard in June with his first anniversary at the company passing a couple of months ago as general counsel and secretary of the company that’s becoming a go-to for driving the utilization and adoption of exome and genome testing to diagnose rare disease.

And what a transformative year it’s shaping up to be, with Schaffer and his legal department playing a behind-the-scenes role to better position GeneDx for continued success. While he defers much credit to his cross-functional team, including the company’s numerous genetics experts working tirelessly to process and interpret complex genetic information to provide the most vulnerable patients with a diagnosis, Schaffer takes satisfaction by aiding their cause with his mix of legal and business acumen.

Such was the case when Schaffer helped manage the company’s liability risk by tapping the expertise of Toledo-based insurance broker Hylant. A life sciences company, he explains, has specific insurance needs, and through Hylant’s network, GeneDx has saved significantly in annual premiums while enhancing coverage across the enterprise.

Given the nature of its business, GeneDx is focused on its approach to cybersecurity. Having previously worked with Hylant during his time with international pharmaceutical distributor Cardinal Health Inc., Devin led GeneDx through a robust underwriting process to bring on a suite of insurance that is continually evolving to meet the company’s needs.

“As a growth company that’s pursuing profitability, this adds a lot of value,” Schaffer says while working remotely from his Dublin, Ohio, home. “It’s always nice when the legal function contributes directly to the financial sustainability of the company.”

Firm financial base

GeneDx was founded in 2000 by two scientists from the National Institutes of Health and today continues to grow as a publicly listed company on Nasdaq under the ticker WGS.

Much of that steam was simmering when he joined the company in April 2023, which had already priced a $150 million public offering of Class A common stock and completed an additional debt transaction in October 2023. Schaffer, being well-versed in transactional law, was highly engaged in the loan process while leading the company on other fronts.

He’s spent much time streamlining governance, organizing processes, sharing and consolidating information into a centralized electronic repository. GeneDx works at the intersection of diagnostics and data (two highly regulated areas), and the better the record-keeping, the better Schaffer can ascertain compliance.

“As we move forward, our reporting requirements will continue to increase on various fronts,” he says. “From my perspective, putting the company in a better position to respond has been critical.”

Man for the job

AsGeneDx’s general counsel, Schaffer brings an interesting background, including transactional and healthcare law.

An Indiana University three-fer—BA, J.D. and MBA—he had cut his teeth in corporate law and mergers and acquisitions with two firms, Ice Miller and Jones Day, from 2008 to 2015. That experience brought him to the attention of Cardinal Health, who recruited him for a senior counsel M&A role but—to his everlasting gratitude—gave him broad experience throughout his tenure.

Schaffer recalls his superiors taking a personal interest in his growth, affording much space for him to flex his legal and business muscles and even notifying him of external professional development opportunities. In his eight years with the company, he ascended to vice president and associate general counsel for the corporate function.

“I had thought I’d always be a transactional lawyer, but Cardinal Health leaders encouraged me to expand my horizons,” he says. “The more exposure I gained, the more I wanted to be a General Counsel.”

GeneDx offered Schaffer the means to make his mark.

“Here, due to the lean structure, I am truly a generalist involved in the details of all legal and compliance matters,” he says.

Growing GeneDx

While GeneDx’s current activity is greatest in the pediatric space, Schaffer says there’s much potential to expand and more partnerships to pursue – especially as genome and exome diagnoses continue to evolve into the standard of care. Participating in setting the foundation for a growth company is very fulfilling for him.

“There have definitely been some growing pains to set up the company to serve patients well into the future,” he says. “But it’s been awesome for me to be exposed to every facet of the business and add value.”

He’s not alone in this quest; Schaffer is heading a team comprised of two attorneys, a compliance professional, a contract manager and a paralegal. Jones Day and other outside firms lighten the load as needed.

It’s all part of an in-house role in the life sciences, he says, while crediting role models that include his late parents, who are neither college graduates but both with much native intelligence and work ethic. Then there was Uncle Dennis Hayes, a civil rights activist who, during the mid-2000s, was general counsel as well as interim president and CEO of the NAACP. Further leadership came from veteran teammates on the Indiana University football team, where Schaffer lettered as a linebacker from 1998 to 2001.

His experience on the gridiron taught Schaffer much about leadership, perseverance, and teamwork, values he’s tried to instill into his 13-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son, who are keen on sports and academics. He lavishes much credit on his wife, Y’Nesha Dawn Schaffer, who augmented her Indiana University MBA with a master’s in counseling and, since 2021, has directed DEI initiatives for the public agency Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities.

A faith-based family, the Schaffers are members of Sanctuary Church Columbus, and he chairs the Christian ministry RTNI. When time permits, he also enjoys golf, but the way GeneDx grows, there might be less time for extracurricular activities.

Not that he’ll complain.

“We’re on the cutting edge of genetics diagnostics,” Schaffer says. “There is a tremendous path to growth here, and it would be hard to duplicate these dynamics elsewhere. I am happy to be where I am.”