GSK's CEO Dame Emma Walsmey to step down

Luke Miels, GSK's chief commercial officer, will succeed her starting January 1.

By  Storyboard18| Sep 30, 2025 10:40 AM
Dame Emma Walsmey joined the Board as CEO Designate on 1 January 2017 and became CEO on 1 April 2017. She has been a member of the GSK Leadership Team since 2011, as the President and then CEO of GSK Consumer Healthcare. Emma will step down as CEO and from the Board on 31 December 2025.

British pharmaceutical company GSK has announced the departure of chief executive officer Dame Emma Walsmey, after holding the position for eight years. She will step down from the board by the end of this year, and will remain at GSK until her notice period ends on September 30, 2026.

Luke Miels, GSK's chief commercial officer, will succeed her starting January 1.

Walsmey joined the Board as CEO Designate on 1 January 2017 and became CEO on 1 April 2017. She has been a member of the GSK Leadership Team since 2011, as the President and then CEO of GSK Consumer Healthcare. Emma will step down as CEO and from the Board on 31 December 2025.

Before being appointed as GSK’s CEO, she was the CEO of GSK Consumer Healthcare, a joint venture between GSK and Novartis, from its creation in March 2015. Walsmey joined GSK in 2010 from L’Oreal, having worked there for 17 years in a variety of roles in Paris, London, New York and Shanghai. Emma’s position as an Independent Director of Microsoft, Inc., further supplements the technology and cyber security experience she brings to the Board.

Walsmey holds an MA in Classics and Modern Languages from Oxford University.

First Published onSep 30, 2025 10:40 AM

SPOTLIGHT

Special CoverageCalling India’s Boldest Brand Makers: Entries Open for the Storyboard18 Awards for Creativity

From purpose-driven work and narrative-rich brand films to AI-enabled ideas and creator-led collaborations, the awards reflect the full spectrum of modern creativity.

Read More

“Confusion creates opportunity for agile players,” Sir Martin Sorrell on industry consolidation

Looking ahead to the close of 2025 and into 2026, Sorrell sees technology platforms as the clear winners. He described them as “nation states in their own right”, with market capitalisations that exceed the GDPs of many countries.