GSK has announced that Emma Walmsley, currently chief executive officer (CEO) of GSK’s Consumer Healthcare division, has been appointed GSK CEO Designate and will succeed Andrew Witty as GSK CEO when he retires on March 31, 2017. Walmsley will join the GSK board of directors January 2017.

Walmsley is currently CEO of GSK Consumer Healthcare, one of the world’s largest consumer health companies, established in 2015 following completion of GSK’s three-part transaction with Novartis.

Prior to this, Walmsley was president of GSK Consumer Healthcare and has been a member of GSK’s corporate executive team since 2011. Walmsley joined GSK in 2010 from L’Oreal where, over the course of her 17-year career, she held a variety of marketing and general management roles in the U.K., Europe and U.S. From 2007, she was based in Shanghai as general manager, Consumer Products for L’Oreal China.

Philip Hampton, GSK chairman, said, “Emma is an outstanding leader with highly valuable experience of building and running major global businesses and a strong track record of delivering growth and driving performance in healthcare. Under Andrew’s leadership, GSK has successfully developed into a company with market-leading positions in pharmaceuticals, vaccines and consumer healthcare. These provide excellent platforms for sustainable, long-term growth, and we are confident Emma will successfully build on these strengths.”

Emma Walmsley said, “I am delighted and honoured to be appointed GSK’s next CEO. GSK is a company that leads both in science and in the way it does business. We have momentum in the Group and as the demand for medical innovation and trusted healthcare products continues to rise, we have the opportunity and the potential to create meaningful benefits for patients, consumers and our shareholders. I’m looking forward to working with Andrew and other leaders over the next few months to ensure a smooth handover and to develop plans for 2017 and beyond.”