Illumina Picks New CEO, but Shares Continue To Slide

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Bill McColl
Bill McColl
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Bill McColl has 25+ years of experience as a senior producer and writer for TV, radio, and digital media leading teams of anchors, reporters, and editors in creating news broadcasts, covering some of the most notable news stories of the time.

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Published September 05, 2023
Silhouetted hand holding a smart phone with Illumina logo on the screen

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Illumina (ILMN) said Tuesday it has chosen Agilent Technologies (A) executive Jacob Thaysen as its new chief executive officer (CEO) as the gene sequencing firm works to recover from a proxy fight with activist investor Carl Icahn and a tumbling share price.

Key Takeaways

  • Illumina picked a new CEO after a proxy fight with activist investor Carl Icahn led former company head Francis deSouza to resign.
  • The board said Agilent Technologies executive Jacob Thaysen will take over Sept. 25.
  • Illumina shares have tumbled after its controversial 2021 decision to complete the multibillion-dollar purchase of cancer testing developer Grail without regulatory approval.

Thaysen is to take control of Illumina on Sept. 25, replacing Francis deSouza, who resigned in June as Icahn moved to shake up the board over the company’s controversial move in 2021 to purchase cancer test developer Grail for $7.1 billion.

Officials in the U.S. and the European Union (EU) have moved to block the deal, and Icahn and his supporters criticized leadership for going forward and closing on it without getting prior approval from regulators. The company is appealing the decisions.

Chairman Stephen MacMillan said that Thaysen was selected after the board conducted “a robust search process,” adding that Thaysen will “help shape and lead the company into its next phase of growth.”

Shares of Illumina fell 5% Tuesday on the news. They have lost about two-thirds of their value since the company went ahead with the Grail acquisition in September 2021. 

Illumina (ILMN) share price since August 2021, when it acquired Grail
YCharts.
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  1. Illumina. "Illumina's Board Appoints Jacob Thaysen, Ph.D., as Its New Chief Executive Officer."

  2. Reuters. "Rocky History of Illumina's Grail Deal."

  3. Illumina. "Illumina Acquires GRAIL to Accelerate Patient Access to Life-Saving Multi-Cancer Early-Detection Test."

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