Kyle Bernal
GlaxoSmithKline is a leading global biotechnology and pharmaceutical company. It specializes in discovering, developing, and marketing a broad range of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, and health care products. The company’s origin traces back to when Plough Court Pharmacy was established in 1715. It was founded in 2000 through the merger of Glaxo Wellcome PLC and SmithKline Beecham PLC to increase its global strength and benefit shareholders. Meet here the GlaxoSmithKline PLC leaders and executives. They help bring innovative solutions and medicines worldwide and are behind GSK’s journey to the organization it is known today!
About GlaxoSmithKline PLC
Who Is the GlaxoSmithKline PLC Founder?
Joseph Nathan, an entrepreneur from New Zealand, founded Glaxo’s parent company in 1873. In 1995, the merger of Glaxo and Burroughs Wellcome Co., owned by U.S. pharmacists Silas Burroughs and Henry Wellcome, formed Glaxo Wellcome. In January 2000, Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham merged to form GlaxoSmithKline.
Where Is the Glaxosmithkline PLC Headquarters?
The GlaxoSmithKline head office is located in Brentford, United Kingdom. However, on October 21, 2020, the company announced it’s leaving its headquarters in Brentford and will move to Weybridge by the end of 2022. This is with the intent of demerging the company into two separate entities. The new GSK will focus on a consumer healthcare company. Meanwhile, the other will focus on pharmaceuticals and drug development (immune system, advanced technologies, and human genetics).
What Industries Does GlaxoSmithKline PLC Serve?
GlaxoSmithKline is a healthcare company focused on the development, research, and manufacturing of the following:
- Consumer health products (oral health, pain relief, skin health, respiratory health, and nutrition and gastrointestinal)
- Pharmaceutical medicines (general and specialty medicines, such as Amoxil, Combivir, Dovato, and Duac)
- Vaccines (targeting various diseases, including Hepatitis A and B, polio, chickenpox, meningitis, diphtheria, and more.
List of GlaxoSmithKline PLC Leaders and Executives
This section provides information on GlaxoSmithKline’s executives, CEO, and essential decision makers playing a big responsibility in the company.
Dame Emma Walmsley, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Director
Dame Emma Walmsley was named GlaxoSmithKline’s Board Director and Chief Executive Officer in April 2017. She succeeded Andrew Witty in the position, making her the first female to lead one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies.
She joined the company in 2010 and previously served as the president of GSK Consumer Healthcare. Before that, Ms. Walmsley worked at L’Oreal, where she fulfilled several marketing and management roles internationally, including in New York and Shanghai.
Iain Mackay, Chief Financial Officer
In August 2018, GlaxoSmithKline announced that Iain Mackay would succeed Simon Dingemans as the new Chief Financial Officer, effective on April 2019. He was also appointed as an executive director to the company’s board. He is a highly skilled accountant with international work experience (in Europe, Asia, and the United States).
MacKay was a former group finance director for eight years at HSBC and served a few positions at Price Waterhouse, General Electric, and Schlumberger Dowell.
David Redfern, Chief Strategy Officer and President of Corporate Development
David Redfern became Chief Strategy Officer and President of Corporate Development in May 2008. He is a chief strategy officer in charge of proactive business explorations and opportunities, dermatology, and strategic planning. Three years after, in addition to his roles, he was appointed ViiV Healthcare Ltd.’s Chairman of the Board. Mr.
Redfern joined the company in 1994. He previously worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he supervised corporate business relations and the portfolio of audit clients.
Diana Conrad, Chief People Officer
In April 2019, GlaxoSmithKline named Diana Conrad as Chief People Officer to lead the company’s HR functions. In 2016, she was appointed the senior vice president of Human Resources Pharma, succeeding Claire Thomas. In 2006, she was appointed as the vice president of Human Resources in Pharmaceuticals Canada, where she held increasing responsibility and managed the international human resources integration activities of GSK with Novartis Consumer businesses.
James Ford, Senior Vice President and Group General Counsel of Legal and Compliance
James Ford has been GlaxoSmithKline’s Senior Vice President and Group General Counsel since August 2018. His responsibilities include leading the company’s legal and compliance department by protecting its intellectual property and supporting its business compliance, risk management, development transactions, and investigations. This executive move after serving twenty years at GSK was to take charge of a team with hundreds of legal professionals across 50 countries, including China, Australia, Japan, and India. James Ford’s leadership team implemented a culture and model to support and train lawyers to become effective business partners.
Sally Jackson, Senior Vice President, Global Communications and CEO Office
Sally Jackson became GlaxoSmithKline’s senior vice president of Global Communications and Chief Executive Officer in March 2019. In these roles, she manages global Communications and Government affairs, leads the embedding and development of the company’s Ahead Together Purpose, culture, and strategy, and oversees the continued modernization of employee engagement.
Ms. Jackson joined GSK in 2001 in R&D’s Portfolio Analysis group.
Luke Miels, Chief Commercial Officer
Luke Miels, a pharmaceutical industry veteran, is GlaxoSmithKline’s Chief Commercial Officer and a board member of Viiv Healthcare. He is responsible for reporting to the CEO and commercializing the company’s 20 billion-euro portfolio of medicines and vaccines operating in 100+ markets. Mr.
Miels joined the company in 2017 as the president of Global Pharmaceuticals. He was a former executive vice president at AstraZeneca, the company where he started his pharmaceuticals career in 1995 in a sales and marketing role.
Shobie Ramakrishnan, Chief Digital and Technology Officer
Shobie Ramakrishnan serves two roles at GlaxoSmithKline. She was named the CHief Digital Officer and Chief Technology Officer for GSK Pharma Commercial in December 2021. She spent half of her career in Bio-Tech and the other in Hi-Tech. Having sufficient experience in both areas, she has led the digital and technology for the company’s Global Commercial Organization to transform GSK’s data, analytics, and digital capabilities.
Ms. Shobie has handled several leadership roles and worked at different companies undergoing large transformations, including Salesforce, AstraZeneca, and Roche.
Tony Wood, Chief Scientific Officer
Tony Wood was named GlaxoSmithKline’s chief officer designate in January 2022. He became the chief scientific officer eight months later with full accountability for Research and Development. He brings more than thirty years of experience in the field. His previous roles in the company were the senior vice president of Platform Technology and Science and Medicinal Science and Technology, where he led all science and technology platforms aligned with the company’s clinical development, discovery, and delivery of new medicines.
GSK Board of Directors
Here are the members of the Board of Directors. They are mainly responsible for corporate governance and the group’s financial activities, ventures, risk management, and strategy.
- Jonathan Symonds, Non-Executive Chair
- Dame Emma Walmsley, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
- Iain Mackay, Chief Financial Officer
- Dr. Hal Barron, Non-Executive Director
- Dr. Anne Beal, Independent Non-Executive Director
- Dr. Harry C Dietz, Independent Non-Executive Director
- Dr. Laurie Glimcher, Independent Non-Executive Director
- Dr. Jesse Goodman, Independent Non-Executive Director
- Elizabeth (McKee Anderson, Independent Non-Executive Director
- Urs Rohner, Independent Non-Executive Director
- Dr. Vishal Sikka, Independent Non-Executive Director
Directing the Future of Medicine, Science, and Technology
GSK continues to direct the future of specialty medicines and vaccines as one of the largest pharmaceutical companies. Thanks to the GlaxoSmithKline PLC leaders and executives who work to ensure its products and innovations will benefit patients worldwide. The company continues to lead in global markets with a strong pipeline of new products and development programs. Its focus on developing innovative medicines for patients is aligned with its goal to maintain its status as one of the leading biopharmaceutical companies in the world.
