GSK’s Emma Walmsley to Step Down as Chief Executive After Eight Years

Pharmaceutical giant GSK has announced that its long-serving chief executive, Emma Walmsley, will step down at the end of this year after eight years in the role. She will remain with the business until her notice period ends on 30 September 2026, paving the way for a managed leadership transition.

Walmsley, who became GSK’s first female CEO in 2017, described the move as the “right moment for new leadership” as the company prepares for a pivotal decade.

“2026 is a pivotal year for GSK to define its path for the decade ahead, and I believe the right moment for new leadership,” she said in a statement. “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. Today, GSK is a biopharma innovator, with far stronger momentum and prospects than nine years ago.”

Luke Miels, currently chief commercial officer and a GSK executive since 2017, has been appointed as her successor.

During her tenure, Walmsley oversaw a significant transformation of the business, including the landmark separation of GSK’s consumer healthcare arm into Haleon, the company’s biggest restructuring move in two decades.

Walmsley has also been one of the UK’s highest-paid executives. She earned £10.6m in 2024, down from £12.7m the year before, largely due to reduced bonus payments, while her base salary remained steady at £1.6m.

GSK chair Sir Jonathan Symonds praised her leadership:
“Emma has delivered a strategic transformation of GSK, including the successful demerger of Haleon. GSK today is necessarily very different to the company she was appointed to nine years ago and has a bright and ambitious future. The company is performing to a new, more competitive standard, with performance anchored in a stronger portfolio balanced across specialty medicines and vaccines.”

Headquartered in London, GSK employs more than 65,000 people worldwide and has a market value of around £60bn, making it one of the largest companies on the London Stock Exchange.

Her departure comes amid wider uncertainty for the pharmaceutical sector, as Donald Trump threatened this week to impose fresh tariffs on branded drugs, as well as on trucks and kitchen cabinets.