GSK announces new chief executive

GSK announced in a statement this morning that Emma Walmsley, now head of the group’s consumer healthcare division, was appointed CEO designate, to succeed Sir Andrew Witty when he steps down on March 31.

Walmsley, who joined the drugmaker in 2010 from L’Oreal, will replace Andrew Witty who had previously announced his decision to retire next March. Prior to joining GSK, Walmsley spent 17 years in management positions at L’Oreal.

Her appointment is likely to be seen as a signal that GSK will retain the consumer business as a core part of its operations, rather than splitting up the company.

Walmsley joins Imperial Tobacco’s Alison Cooper, Royal Mail’s Moya Greene, EasyJet’s Carolyn McCall, Severn Trent’s Liv Garfield, Kingfisher’s Veronique Laury and Whitbread’s Alison Brittain as the list of women running FTSE-100 companies.

Barrow-in-Furness born businesswoman Emma Walmsley is set to become the most powerful woman in the FTSE 100 after being named as the new chief executive of drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline.

Ms Walmsley said in a statement: “I am delighted and honoured to be appointed GSK’s next CEO”.

She will take over from Andrew Witty when he retires in March next year.

Alongside the Novartis deal, the latter part of Witty’s tenure was clouded by Chinese authorities fining GSK the equivalent of nearly half a billion dollars in 2014 over alleged bribery.

GSK and other large pharmaceutical companies are regrouping amid competition from generic drugmakers, shedding units that aren’t central to their businesses and focusing on their strengths.

The Financial Times commented, “Analysts at Citi said Ms Walmsley’s appointment “may unsettle investors hoping for an external candidate”, but added that the outlook for investors remains favourable if the new chief executive is “willing to critically assess GSK’s research and development productivity”.

The pair also formed a joint venture for consumer health products, headed by Walmsley.

GSK’s share price has fallen into the red in today’s session, having lost 0.70 percent to 1,634.00p as of 09:03 BST, and underperforming the benchmark FTSE 100 index which has climbed into positive territory and is now 0.32 percent better off at 6,835.38 points.