# John Stuelpnagel

> John R. Stuelpnagel is a genomics entrepreneur who co-founded Illumina, served as its first acting CEO and later COO, and subsequently helped build several companies as a founder, chairman and advisor. He chairs 10x Genomics and Manus Bio, and is based in Santa Barbara, California.

- **Role:** Chairman of the Board at 10x Genomics and Manus Bio
- **Organizations:** Illumina, 10x Genomics, Manus Bio, Venrock, Encoded Therapeutics, Volta, Ariosa Diagnostics, Fabric Genomics, Inscripta, Sequenta, Adaptive Biotechnologies, Element Biosciences, CW Group, Catalyst Partners
- **Education:** B.S. in Biochemistry, University of California, Davis, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, MBA, University of California, Los Angeles
- **Known for:** Co-founded Illumina in 1998 and served in executive roles during its development into a publicly traded genomics tools business., Has chaired 10x Genomics since August 2013., Co-founded Ariosa and served as executive chairman.

## Career timeline

- **1996-1997** — Associate at Catalyst Partners.
- **1997-1998** — Associate at CW Group while helping establish Illumina.
- **1998-1999** — Co-founded Illumina; acting president and CEO from April 1998 to October 1999.
- **1998-2000** — Also served as acting CFO through April 2000.
- **1999-2002** — Vice president of business development at Illumina.
- **2002** — Became Illumina senior vice president of operations.
- **2005** — Became Illumina COO in January.
- **2008** — Stepped down as COO and director in April; continued on key projects as an Illumina Fellow.
- **2009** — Left Illumina in March; co-founded Ariosa and began chairing Fabric Genomics later that year.
- **2010-2015** — Chairman of Sequenta.
- **2013** — Began chairing 10x Genomics in August.
- **2015-2017** — Director at Adaptive Biotechnologies following its Sequenta combination.
- **2017-2023** — Chairman of Element Biosciences.
- **2017-2025** — Chairman of Inscripta.
- **2020** — Venrock announced a formal advisory relationship.
- **2025** — Became Manus Bio chairman in April after its merger with Inscripta; joined Volta’s board in May.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Illumina in 1998 and served in executive roles during its development into a publicly traded genomics tools business.
- Has chaired 10x Genomics since August 2013.
- Co-founded Ariosa and served as executive chairman.
- Helped identify DNA microarrays as a scalable application for the technology underlying Illumina.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — The 2026 10x Genomics proxy identifies him as board chairman and records current roles at Manus Bio, Encoded Therapeutics and Volta.
- **2025-05** — Joined Volta’s board, according to the 2026 10x Genomics proxy.
- **2025-04** — Became chairman of Manus Bio following the Inscripta merger; his Fabric Genomics chairmanship ended upon its sale to GeneDx.

## Links

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-stuelpnagel-1107ba

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/john-stuelpnagel
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-14