GSK’s First Female CEO Steps Down After Nearly A Decade — Retail Hopes New Leadership Can Revive Lagging Stock

Emma Walmsley’s decision to step down as chief executive officer of GSK Plc brings to a close a nearly nine-year tenure, leaving the FTSE 100 with just nine female CEOs.

Walmsley will pass the baton to Luke Miels, GSK’s chief commercial officer, on Jan. 1 as it tries to refresh its product pipeline and counter an anticipated expiry of patent protection on its bestselling HIV medicine dolutegravir in 2028.

Since taking the top job in 2017, Walmsley has led the company through the Covid-19 pandemic and overseen the spinoff of its consumer health unit into Haleon Plc, as well as doubling the group’s spending on research and development, according to a Bloomberg report.

She also bet big on cancer and respiratory medicines through a series of acquisitions, even as some investors questioned the company’s sluggish share performance and activist fund Elliott Management called for change.

“2026 is a pivotal year for GSK to define its path for the decade ahead, and I believe the right moment for new leadership,” Walmsley said in a statement.

Her tenure has drawn both admiration and criticism as she was the first woman to lead a global pharmaceutical giant, modernized GSK’s operations, and guided it through turbulent markets, but the company’s stock still fell about 11% under her leadership, The Wall Street Journal noted.

Her successor, Luke Miels, joined GSK from AstraZeneca in 2017 and is widely seen as instrumental in building the company’s specialty medicines business, particularly in oncology and respiratory treatments.

GSK is targeting annual sales of over £40 billion ($53.6 billion) by 2031, compared with £31.4 billion last year. Miels now faces the challenge of proving GSK can hit that goal and restore investor confidence in its drug pipeline and vaccines business.

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for GSK was ‘bullish’ amid ‘normal’ message volume.

One user questioned whether Walmsley’s exit would meaningfully change GSK’s long-term prospects, noting that both she and former CEO Andrew Witty had delivered “weak returns” and left the company lagging behind other major drugmakers. 

The user added that they were uncertain about whether to sell their position but hoped the new leadership could help revive the stock.

GSK’s U.S.-listed stock has risen 25.6% so far in 2025.

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