GSK CEO Walmsley to exit as insider Miels tapped to rev up pipeline

Source: Reuters

September 29, 2025 2:43 PM EDT Updated 5 hours ago


Sept 29 (Reuters) - GSK's (GSK.L) CEO Emma Walmsley will step down at the end of the year and be replaced by insider Luke Miels, the drugmaker said on Monday, a surprise switch as the British firm looks to rev up its pipeline and navigate U.S. trade tariff uncertainty.

The move caps Walmsley's over eight years in the role that made her the most senior female CEO in the UK. She drove the spin-off of GSK's consumer healthcare business but never fully won over investors, with worries about a thinning pipeline.

The shake-up comes as GSK faces a tumultuous wider environment with punishing U.S. trade tariffs, battles over drug pricing and increased demand for new medicines to head off patent expiries and declining revenues. Companies more broadly are shaking up leadership from fashion to retail.

"Today, GSK is a biopharma innovator, with far stronger momentum and prospects than nine years ago," Walmsley, 56, said in a statement, adding that next year was key for the company and that it was the "right moment for new leadership".

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/gsk-names-luke-miels-ceo-designate-2025-09-29/