Francis deSouza, CEO of Illumina Inc., during a panel session on the third day of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday, January 19, 2023.
Stefan Wermuth | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Illumina on Sunday announced its board of directors had accepted the resignation of CEO Francis deSouza, just weeks after activist-investor Carl Icahn failed to remove him from the biotech company.
The board of directors is on the lookout for a latest CEO and is considering each internal and external candidates edition. Charles Dadswell, senior vice chairman and general counsel of Illumina, will function interim CEO.
DeSouza’s resignation takes effect immediately, but he’ll remain in an advisory role until July 31.
“Serving Illumina has been a lifetime privilege,” deSouza said in an announcement. “Together, we have made great progress, but I think we’re still on the very starting of the impact Illumina may have on people’s health by unlocking the facility of the genome.”
Illumina, known for its DNA sequencing and array-based technology, is in a fierce battle with Icahn, who owns 1.4% of the corporate.
Icahn accused Illumina’s executive leadership and board of directors of poor oversight, particularly regarding the corporate’s controversial activities. Acquisition for $7.1 billion makers of Grail cancer tests in 2021. Similarly, in an open letter to Illumina shareholders in April, Icahn accused deSouza “desperately, hilariously, and mostly unsuccessfully” trying to get “definitely mediocre” quarterly results in the course of the press tour.
In late May, Icahn urged shareholders to vote for deSouza and chairman John Thompson on the nine-member board. Shareholders fired Thompson, but deSouza kept his role until Sunday.
Icahn wrote in Sunday on Twitter that he’s “comfortable” to see the recent changes to Illumina.
“While after all I believe the CEO change must have happened much sooner, it’s still a really positive development,” he said.