GSK’s CEO Emma Walmsley, is stepping down from her role and will be replaced by Luke Miels, who has been appointed CEO designate. Miels will assume full responsibilities as CEO and join the GSK board on 1 January 2026.
Miels is currently GSK’s Chief Commercial Officer, with world-wide responsibility for medicines and vaccines, having joined the company 2017. He has also been involved in building GSK’s speciality medicines portfolio, notably in oncology and respiratory. Miels has worked across the world at senior levels with roles at AstraZeneca, Roche, and Sanofi-Aventis.
GSK said that this breadth of experience means that Miels is “exceptionally well qualified to lead the company and to deliver the patient and shareholder value inherent in the company’s future ambitions.”
“GSK is a very special company, with outstanding prospects and enormous capacity to impact people’s health and to change lives. As the next CEO, I am privileged to take on this responsibility, with humility and ambition.” Miels said as the company announced the change.
The company added that Walmsley will step down from the GSK board on the 31 December this year but will remain with the business until her notice period ends on 30 September 2026, supporting the “orderly transition” throughout that period. The company added that given the potential impact to GSK’s operating environment arising from geopolitics and new technologies, the board has asked Walmsley to support the company and the new CEO on these matters.
Chair of GSK Sir Jonathan Symonds said: “I want to thank Emma and acknowledge her outstanding leadership in delivering 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 speciality medicines and vaccines.”
GSK said that during Walmsley’s leadership the company has prioritised the development of speciality medicines and vaccines, as well as delivering multiple new products. R&D has also been reinvigorated with 15 major pipeline opportunities set to launch between 2025 and 2031. At the same time GSK’s balance sheet has been strengthened, and following the demerger of consumer healthcare company Haleon, a new industry leading business has been created.
Walmsley said: “2026 is a pivotal year for GSK to define its path for the decade ahead, and I believe the right moment for new leadership […] Today GSK is a biopharma innovator, with far stronger momentum and prospects than nine years ago. Most importantly, the inspiring people in our labs, factories and markets worldwide are delivering innovation that matters to get ahead of disease. I know Luke will lead them brilliantly to greater impact for patients.”
GSK added that the appointment of Miels reflects effective long-term succession planning by the board and Walmsley, and is the outcome of a rigorous process, conducted by the board with external support, over the last few months. The process considered both internal and external candidates.
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