Francis deSouza just resigned as the CEO of Illumina Inc

Illumina Inc (NASDAQ: ILMN), on Sunday, said its board has accepted resignation from CEO Francis deSouza who’s been leading the gene sequencing company since 2016.

Charles Dadswell named interim CEO

The biotech giant has already started looking or a new chief executive. Both internal as well as external candidate are being considered, as per the press release.

In the meantime, Charles Dadswell – the Senior Vice President of Illumina Inc will serve as the interim CEO.

We thank Francis for his contributions and leadership. We’re confident Illumina can continue to execute on its goals while we conduct and complete a CEO search process.

In April, Illumina reported quarterly earnings and revenue that topped Street estimates. At writing, the biotech stock is trading roughly at the same price at which it started the year 2023.

Carl Icahn wanted deSouza to step down

It’s noteworthy here that the resignation arrives shortly after Carl Icahn – an activist investor failed to oust Francis deSouza. In the press release, the departing chief executive said:

It’s been a privilege to serve Illumina. We’ve made great progress together. But we’re still at the beginning of the impact Illumina will have on human health by unlocking the power of the genome.

His resignation goes live immediately but he’ll remain with Illumina Inc until July 31^st in advisory capacity. The Nasdaq-listed firm has been under fire for its $7.1 billion acquisition of Grail (cancer test maker).

Wall Street currently has a consensus hold rating on “ILMN”.