Francis deSouza resigned as Illumina’s chief executive after he lost support from some board members following his pursuit of a $7 billion deal that was rejected by antitrust regulators and triggered a proxy battle with Carl Icahn.
Charles Dadswell, general counsel of the gene-sequencing machine maker, is serving as interim chief executive, while the board begins a search for a permanent successor, Illumina said Sunday.
The departing CEO, who will remain an adviser until July 31, had been with Illumina since 2013 and served as chief executive since 2016. His exit, after other recent changes to Illumina’s board, is likely to hasten a resolution of the company’s battle with U.S. and European antitrust regulators over the purchase of cancer-test developer Grail.
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