Illumina Inc. ILMN activist shareholder and billionaire Carl Icahn told The Wall Street Journal he’d like to see the return of ex-CEO Jay Flatley to replace the gene sequencing device maker’s current CEO Francis De deSouza. Icahn spoke to the newspaper after launching a proxy campaign earlier in March and nominating three people to the company’s board, as disclosed in a letter to shareholders that focused on the company’s acquisition of Grail, a cancer screening company. Ichan said Illumina should re-hire Flatley as soon as possible because “he obviously knows the company and did a good job with it.” Flatley was CEO until 2016, and then worked as executive chairman until three years ago, followed by chairman up until May, 2021. Flatley was quoted in the Financial Times that Illumina spent too much for Grail. Icahn did not tell the WSJ whether he’d been in touch with Flatley. Meanwhile, Illumina officials have said that Grail offers long-term benefits to the company. Complicating the picture is Illumina’s appeal of a European Union ruling to unwind Grail. Illumina stock is up 5.8% in 2023, compared to an 11.9% increase by the Nasdaq COMP.
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