RightPath Industries was founded in 2013 by Brian Testa, who serves as its President. Testa started his career at the bench as a Pathologist Assistant at UPMC, then spent more than a decade on the supply side of life science — at Thermo Fisher Scientific, at BBC Biochemical, and through nine years in toll and specialty chemical manufacturing at Equinox Chemicals. He built RightPath around a conviction formed in those labs: most chemical distributors sell to laboratories without ever having worked in one.
| Brian Testa at a glance | |
|---|---|
| Role | Founder & President, RightPath Industries |
| Founded RightPath | March 2013 |
| Started career | Pathologist Assistant, UPMC (2006–2008) |
| Life science sales | Thermo Fisher Scientific |
| Histology & pathology | Director of Business Development, BBC Biochemical |
| Chemical manufacturing | Director of Business Development, Equinox Chemicals (2009–2018) |
| Education | The College of Wooster |
How did Brian Testa go from the bench to the supply chain?
Brian Testa’s first job in this industry involved handling tissue, not purchase orders. As a Pathologist Assistant at UPMC from 2006 to 2008, he worked alongside pathologists on the gross examination of specimens, preparing tissue samples for diagnostic evaluation and learning laboratory protocol from the inside.
That experience shaped everything after it. A distributor who has stood at a grossing station understands why a change in fixative supplier is not a procurement decision — it is a revalidation event. It is a perspective that does not come from a product catalog.
He moved to the commercial side at Thermo Fisher Scientific, working with analytical laboratories across the Pacific Northwest and building a working knowledge of the life sciences and genomics market. At BBC Biochemical he served as Director of Business Development, expanding the company’s position in histology and pathology and building out its bulk chemical business — the first time he ran a specialty channel and a commodity channel side by side.
From 2009 to 2018 he was Director of Business Development at Equinox Chemicals, where he spent nine years in toll and contract chemical manufacturing directing purchasing, sourcing and sales. Manufacturing taught him the half of the business most distributors never see: batch economics, campaign scheduling, what a producer can actually commit to, and what a quoted lead time is really worth.
Why did he found RightPath Industries in 2013?
By 2013, Testa had worked every seat in the chain — the laboratory that consumes the material, the manufacturer that makes it, and the distributor in between. What he kept seeing was a gap. Laboratories and manufacturers were buying from organizations that could quote a price but could not tell them whether a substitution would hold up in their process.
RightPath Industries started as a local Pennsylvania chemical supplier with a narrow premise: act as a consultant during the purchasing process, not just a vendor at the end of it. Recommend the lower-cost alternative when one exists. Say so plainly when one does not.
The life sciences and diagnostics focus is not a market segment the company chose off a list. It is where its founder started.
What does Brian Testa do outside RightPath?
Testa serves as Vice President at Extra Equity Investments LLC, where he provides consulting across business development, M&A advisory, strategic sourcing, branding and packaging. He is also a Senior Consultant to Pristine Alcohol, LLC, a privately held producer of ultrapure ethyl alcohol serving the beverage, pharmaceutical, industrial, and food flavor and fragrance markets. He continues to consult for Equinox Chemicals in Albany, Georgia.
He is a graduate of The College of Wooster and lives and works in Western Pennsylvania.
Frequently asked questions
Who founded RightPath Industries?
RightPath Industries was founded in 2013 by Brian Testa, who serves as President of the company.
What is Brian Testa’s background?
Brian Testa began his career as a Pathologist Assistant at UPMC, then worked in life science sales at Thermo Fisher Scientific, led business development in histology and pathology at BBC Biochemical, and spent nine years as Director of Business Development at Equinox Chemicals in toll and specialty chemical manufacturing before founding RightPath Industries.
When was RightPath Industries founded?
RightPath Industries was founded in March 2013 and began as a local Pennsylvania chemical supplier before expanding nationally and internationally.
What makes RightPath different from larger chemical distributors?
RightPath was founded by someone who worked in a pathology laboratory before he ever sold a chemical. That background means the company evaluates a substitution the way a laboratory does, against the process it has to survive, rather than against a price sheet alone.
Where is RightPath Industries headquartered?
RightPath Industries is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and serves customers throughout the United States and internationally.
How do I reach Brian Testa or the RightPath team?
For a sourcing requirement, substitution question or quote, call 888-255-2401 or send a request and the team will respond directly.