Illumina's Board said it is appreciative of Mr. deSouza's contributions and commitment to the company and all of its stakeholders.

"We thank Francis for his contributions and leadership, and are very excited about embarking on the next chapter of Illumina's great journey," said Stephen P. MacMillan, Chair of the Board of Illumina. "Illumina's technology remains at the forefront of DNA sequencing and has continued to set the pace for the industry. We are confident Illumina can continue to execute on its goals while we conduct and complete a CEO search process."

"It has been the privilege of a lifetime to serve Illumina. When I joined this company in 2013, we talked about making the company more clinical, more digital, and more global. On behalf of patients, clinicians and physicians everywhere, I'd like to thank the thousands of Illumina employees who made it happen," said Mr. deSouza. "We have made great progress together, but I believe we are still at the very beginning of the impact Illumina will have on human health by unlocking the power of the genome."

The Board of Directors is conducting a search for a new CEO looking at internal and external candidates. The Board is focused on finding a world-class business leader who can drive advancements in healthcare, growth and shareholder value.