GSK Plc has appointed Luke Miels as chief executive officer designate, as well as a member of the company’s board of directors, from 1 January 2026. Emma Walmsley, the current CEO who has led the company since 2017, will step down from her position. However she will remain with the business until her notice period ends on 30 September 2026.
In a statement on 29 September, Ms Walmsley said that 2026 is the right moment for new leadership as the company defines its path for the decade ahead. “As CEO, you hope to leave the company you love, stronger than you found it and prepare for seamless succession. I’m proud to have done both – and to have created Haleon, a new world-leader in consumer health,” she said. One of Ms Walmsley’s jobs during her tenure was to spin out Haleon, GSK’s consumer health division in order to focus on proprietary medicine development. This took place in July 2022 leaving the company with a portfolio of vaccines and specialty medicines including drugs for respiratory diseases, cancer, and treatments for inflammatory disorders. The company currently has 15 candidate products that could potentially launch by 2031. It has set a sales target for the same year of more than £40 billion.
Mr Miels jointed GSK in 2017 and is currently chief commercial officer. He previously held senior positions at AstraZeneca Plc, the Roche Group and Sanofi SA. He holds a Bachelor of Science from Flinders University and a Master of Business Administration from Macquarie University, both in Australia.
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