CEO of drugmaker GSK to step down by year’s end

Advertisement

Advertise with us

LONDON (AP) — GSK Chief Executive Emma Walmsley, the first woman to lead a major pharmaceutical company, will step down Dec. 31 after more than eight years at the head of the London-based drugmaker.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Monthly Digital Subscription

$1 per week for 24 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*Billed as $4.00 plus GST every four weeks. After 24 weeks, price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

Monthly Digital Subscription

$4.75/week*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

No thanks

*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.

LONDON (AP) — GSK Chief Executive Emma Walmsley, the first woman to lead a major pharmaceutical company, will step down Dec. 31 after more than eight years at the head of the London-based drugmaker.

Walmsley, 56, will be replaced by Luke Miels, currently GSK’s chief commercial officer, the company said in a statement released on Monday.

While GSK achieved a number of strategic successes under Walmsley, including the spinoff of the consumer health care business Haleon, it has disappointed investors. GSK’s shares rose 3.3% to 1534.50 pence in early trading, making it the biggest gainer on the London Stock Exchange.

Dame Emma Walmsley, CEO of GSK arrives for a business roundtable attended by President Donald Trump and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers near Aylesbury, England, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Dame Emma Walmsley, CEO of GSK arrives for a business roundtable attended by President Donald Trump and Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers near Aylesbury, England, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

GSK’s shares fell 11% between April 1, 2017, when Walmsley became CEO, and last Friday.

“Despite the progress, the share price performance has been lackluster,” Derren Nathan, head of equity research at U.K.-based Hargreaves Lansdown,” said in a note to investors.

“Although her record of delivering on financial guidance has been strong, the company’s growth rates remain stuck in single-digit territory.”

Report Error Submit a Tip