Vice President, Mergers & Acquisitions

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Reports To: Senior VP, Head of Corporate Development & Strategic Planning

Position Summary

The Vice President, Mergers & Acquisitions serves as a senior enterprise leader responsible for shaping and executing Illumina's global inorganic growth strategy in alignment with long-term corporate objectives. This role operates at the intersection of strategy, finance, and business leadership, driving disciplined capital allocation and portfolio evolution through acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, and strategic investments.

This leader will define and operate a strategic and anticipatory M&A and corporate development strategy, grounded in deep industry insight, competitive intelligence, and enterprise priorities. The role requires not only excellence in transaction execution, but also the ability to influence enterprise strategy, advise executive leadership and the Board, and ensure that inorganic investments deliver measurable long-term value.

Operating in a highly matrixed, global environment, the VP will partner across business units, R&D, commercial, legal, finance, and regional leadership to identify opportunities, assess strategic fit, and drive execution across the full transaction lifecycle, including integration and value realization.

This role leads a global, matrixed M&A team, with accountability for both direct and indirect contributors. Success will be defined by both transaction outcomes and the ability to build, align, and develop a high-performing global team.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership & Portfolio Management

• Develop and continuously refine Illumina's enterprise-wide inorganic growth strategy, aligned to long-range planning, capital allocation priorities, and emerging market opportunities.
• Partner with the Senior VP, Head of Corporate Development & Strategic Planning, executive leadership team, and Board to shape portfolio strategy, including acquisition priorities, divestitures, and strategic partnerships.
• Establish a proactive target identification framework, leveraging market intelligence, competitive analysis, and internal strategic priorities to build and maintain a robust pipeline.
• Evaluate strategic trade-offs across investment opportunities, ensuring disciplined prioritization and alignment with enterprise value creation goals.

Deal Origination & Execution Excellence

• Lead the end-to-end M&A lifecycle, including sourcing, screening, valuation, due diligence, structuring, negotiation, and closing of transactions.
• Drive complex, cross-border transactions, ensuring alignment with regulatory, tax, and compliance considerations across jurisdictions.
• Oversee development of advanced financial models, scenario analyses, and valuation frameworks to inform executive decision-making.
• Ensure transactions are structured to balance financial returns, strategic positioning, and risk mitigation, including accretion/dilution and long-term value creation.

Enterprise Integration & Value Realization

• Establish and govern a best-in-class integration framework, ensuring alignment with the Strategic rationale and accountability for value capture.
• Partner with business leaders to define and track post-deal value realization metrics, including revenue synergies, cost efficiencies, and strategic milestones.
• Lead integration governance, ensuring timely decision-making, risk management, and escalation of key issues to executive leadership.

Cross-Functional & Global Leadership

• Operate as a trusted advisor to senior executives, influencing decision-making across business units, regions, and functions.
• Partner closely with R&D, commercial, finance, legal, HR, and regional leaders to ensure alignment on strategic priorities and execution.
• Navigate a highly matrixed global organization, balancing competing priorities and driving alignment across diverse stakeholders.

Market Intelligence & External Engagement

• Maintain deep expertise in life sciences, genomics, diagnostics, and adjacent markets, including emerging technologies and competitive dynamics.
• Build and manage relationships with investment banks, private equity firms, venture capital, and industry partners to enhance deal flow and market visibility.
• Represent Illumina externally in strategic discussions, partnerships, and industry forums.

Governance & Executive Communication

• Prepare and present investment theses, deal recommendations, and portfolio updates to executive leadership and the Board of Directors.
• Ensure adherence to governance standards, compliance requirements, and risk management protocols across all transactions.

Leadership & Team Accountability

• Lead and develop a global, matrixed team (direct and indirect), driving alignment, accountability, and performance.
• Provide coaching and feedback to elevate team capability, including across indirect reporting lines.
• Establish clear roles, priorities, and operating discipline to ensure consistent, high-quality execution across regions
• Partner with functional and regional leaders to align on talent, resources, and delivery.

Key Competencies

• Enterprise Strategic Thinking: Ability to connect M&A activity to long-term corporate strategy and portfolio evolution.
• Financial Acumen & Capital Allocation: Deep expertise in valuation, financial modeling, and disciplined investment decision-making.
• Executive Influence & Presence: Proven ability to advise and influence C-suite and Board-level stakeholders.
• Global & Matrix Leadership: Effectively leads across complex, global, and highly matrixed environments without direct authority.
• Deal Judgment & Risk Assessment: Strong ability to assess risk, structure complex deals, and make sound, timely decisions.
• Integration & Value Realization Focus: Drives accountability for delivering deal value beyond transaction close.
• Market Insight & External Orientation: Maintains strong awareness of industry trends, competitors, and emerging opportunities.
• Team Leadership & Talent Development: Builds and develops high-performing, diverse teams with strong succession pipelines.
• Change Leadership: Leads organizations through ambiguity, transformation, and complex integration efforts.
• Global / Matrix Leadership: Effectively leads across direct and indirect reporting lines; drives results through influence.
• People Leadership: Builds, develops, and retains high-performing teams; actively coaches and manages performance.
• Alignment & Accountability: Creates clarity in complex environments and ensures consistent delivery across teams.

Supervisory Responsibilities

This role includes direct supervision of a team of corporate development professionals, including Directors, Senior Managers, and Analysts, with responsibility for performance management, coaching and development, workload prioritization, and day-to-day oversight.

The position is also responsible for hiring, onboarding, and navigating people related matters in alignment with company policies, values, and evolving workplace expectations.

Additionally, the role provides indirect leadership across cross-functional integration teams, influencing senior stakeholders globally.

Minimum Qualifications

• Typically requires a Bachelor's degree and a minimum of 20 years of progressive experience in M&A, corporate development, investment banking, private equity, or strategic finance with 15+ years of Management experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated track record of leading complex, large-scale, and cross-border transactions from origination through integration.
• 5+ years of experience leading and developing high-performing M&A or corporate development teams.
• Deep expertise in financial modeling, valuation, and deal structuring.
• Proven ability to operate effectively in a global, matrixed organization and influence senior stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of regulatory, legal, and compliance considerations in M&A transactions.
• Proven experience leading global, matrixed teams, including both direct and indirect reports.
• Track record of driving results and developing talent in complex, cross-functional environments.

Preferred Credentials

• Experience in life sciences, genomics, diagnostics, or healthcare technology sectors strongly preferred.
• Prior experience operating at or partnering closely with C-suite and Board of Directors.
• MBA or advanced degree in finance, business, or related field.
• Experience with portfolio strategy, venture investments, or strategic partnerships.

The estimated base salary range for the Vice President, Mergers & Acquisitions role based in the United States of America is: $266,300 - $399,500. Should the level or location of the role change during the hiring process, the applicable base pay range may be updated accordingly. The range reflects long-term growth in the role; therefore, most candidates are hired between the minimum and middle of the range. Placement depends on experience, skills, location, and internal equity. Additionally, all employees are eligible for one of our variable cash programs (bonus or commission) and eligible roles may receive equity as part of the compensation package. We offer a wide range of benefits as innovative as our work, including access to genomics sequencing, family planning, health/dental/vision, retirement benefits, and paid time off.

We are a company deeply rooted in belonging, promoting an inclusive environment where employees feel valued and empowered to contribute to our mission. Built on a strong foundation, Illumina has always prioritized openness, collaboration, and seeking alternative perspectives to propel innovation in genomics. We are proud to confirm a zero-net gap in pay, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or race. We also have several Employee Resource Groups (ERG) that deliver career development experiences, increase cultural awareness, and offer opportunities to engage in social responsibility. We are proud to be an equal opportunity employer committed to providing employment opportunity regardless of sex, race, creed, color, gender, religion, marital status, domestic partner status, age, national origin or ancestry, physical or mental disability, medical condition, sexual orientation, pregnancy, military or veteran status, citizenship status, and genetic information. Illumina conducts background checks on applicants for whom a conditional offer of employment has been made. Qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records will be considered for employment in accordance with applicable local, state, and federal laws. Background check results may potentially result in the withdrawal of a conditional offer of employment. The background check process and any decisions made as a result shall be made in accordance with all applicable local, state, and federal laws. Illumina prohibits the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) in the application and interview process. If you require accommodation to complete the application or interview process, please contact View email address on click.appcast.io. To learn more, visit: The position will be posted until a final candidate is selected or the requisition has a sufficient number of qualified applicants.