Emma Walmsley to become CEO of GlaxoSmithKline

20 September 2016

Britain’s largest pharma company GlaxoSmithKline (LSE: GSK) today announces that Emma Walmsley, currently chief executive of GSK’s Consumer Healthcare division, is appointed GSK CEO designate and will succeed Sir Andrew Witty as GSK CEO, who has previously stated that he will retire from the company effective March 31, 2017.

Ms Walmsley will join the GSK board of directors from January 1, 2017. Ms Walmsley will be the pharma major's first female chief executive, and one of only six women in FTSE 100 chief executive roles.

Prior to becoming CEO of the GSK Consumer unit, Ms Walmsley and has been a member of GSK’s Corporate Executive Team since 2011. She joined GSK in 2010 from L’Oreal where, over the course of her 17-year career, she held a variety of marketing and general management roles in the UK, Europe and USA. From 2007 she was based in Shanghai as general manager, Consumer Products for L’Oreal China.

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