Walmsley to leave GSK in surprise exit
Dame Emma Walmsley has been CEO at GSK since 2017.
This week has kicked off with the unexpected news that Emma Walmsley is standing down as chief executive of GSK after eight years, to be replaced by current chief commercial officer Luke Miels.
Walmsley will step down from the board of directors of GSK at the end of the year, and will step down as CEO on 30th September next year, after her notice period comes to an end. In a statement, she said that 2026 will be a pivotal year for GSK and it is "the right moment for new leadership."
Miels joined GSK in 2017, the same year that Walmsley took over as CEO, and has a long history of pharma leadership roles in other companies, including AstraZeneca, Roche, and Sanofi-Aventis.
Walmsley made history as the first woman to lead a major pharmaceutical company, rising to the role after leading its consumer health unit, and led the company through a global restructuring programme that included a reorganisation of senior management and the bringing in of new talent like Miels. She was also forced to fend off a leadership challenge in 2021.
Her time at the helm was punctuated by the acquisition of Novartis consumer health to build up GSK's division, followed by the spin-out of the business as Haleon, and a renewed focus of its R&D on specialty medicines and vaccines. Spending on R&D has also doubled over her time in charge, reaching £6.4 billion (almost $7.8 billion) last year.
Miels has been instrumental in achieving that refocus through bolt-on deals, including the acquisitions this year alone of rare cancer therapy developer IDRx and Boston Pharma's efimosfermin, along with a strategic-level deal with China's Jiangsu Hengrui Pharma that spans a dozen drug candidates and could be worth up to $12.5 billion.
"As CEO, you hope to leave the company you love stronger than you found it and prepare for seamless succession. I'm proud to have done both – and to have created Haleon, a new world-leader in consumer health," said Walmsley.
"Today, GSK is a biopharma innovator, with far stronger momentum and prospects than nine years ago."
GSK's chair, Sir Jonathan Symonds, thanked Walmsley for her "outstanding leadership in delivering a strategic transformation of GSK, including the successful demerger of Haleon."
There are challenges ahead for Miels, including a looming patent cliff in HIV medicines sold through its ViiV Healthcare subsidiary and the uncertain impact of an increasingly vaccine-sceptic operating environment in the US.
There will be a pay cheque saving for GSK after the switch, as Walmsley's latest pay deal was worth around £21.6 million, while Miels will get around £16 million.
