Illumina announced that John W. Thompson will join the company’s board of directors on May 3, 2017, bringing extensive technology leadership experience to the company.

Thompson’s executive leadership experience includes having served in chief executive officer roles at Symantec and Virtual Instruments, as well as 28 years of prior leadership experience at IBM where he held senior roles in sales, marketing, software development, and as general manager of IBM Americas. He is chairman of the board at Microsoft and has served on the corporate boards of Symantec, NIPSCO (Northern Indiana Public Service Company), Fortune Brands, Seagate Technologies and United Parcel Service (UPS).

Thompson is a member of the board of trustees for the Wetlands America Trust and formerly a member of the national board of Teach for America. In addition, he has served on several government commissions including the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, the National Infrastructure Advisory Council, and the Silicon Valley Blue Ribbon Task Force on Aviation Security and Technology.

“John brings a great breadth of knowledge and experience in the public and private sectors having served in such a wide range of leadership and advisory roles,” said Francis deSouza, Illumina president and chief executive officer. “His wealth of technology expertise will help us continue to grow and scale our business in the years to come.”