Gene sequencing leader Illumina adds Apple exec to its board

Illumina ($ILMN), a global player in the gene sequencing and array-based technologies, named Apple ($AAPL) executive Philip Schiller to its board of directors.

Schiller, who has more than 30 years of marketing and managing experience, is currently Apple’s senior vice president of worldwide marketing and a member of the tech company’s executive team responsible for product marketing, developer relations, business marketing, education marketing, international marketing and App Store programs.

Since joining Apple in 1997, Schiller has been part of the company’s team that has brought consumers products like the Mac, iPod, iPhone and Apple Watch.

“Phil’s track record and global experience in bringing world-class products to market will help guide us as we continue to develop innovative new solutions for our customers,” Francis deSouza, president and CEO of Illumina, said in a statement. “His vision, integrity and passion are fully aligned with Illumina’s core values.”

In recent years, Apple has been making moves to position itself as a player in the healthcare tech arena, especially with the rollout of its Apple Watch, which the company wants to turn into a consumer-facing medical device.

Earlier this year, Apple and MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper launched a pilot breast cancer study that uses the company's Apple Watch to monitor patients.

More recently, Apple filed a patent for an electronic device that uses sensors to collect, monitor and send health data. The product could work with a smartphone to track vital signs such as heart rate, oxygen level, blood pressure or temperature.

In May, Illumina inked a deal with BioDiscovery to offer data visualization and interpretation software alongside its CytoSeq assay. Under the deal, Illumina is offering BioDiscovery’s NxClinical software to help CytoSeq users with data analysis and management.

-check out the release

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