Emma Walmsley is a businesswoman born in June 1969 (55 years old) in Lancashire, England, and she is currently the Chief Executive Officer of GSK (GlaxoSmithKline), the tenth most important pharmaceutical company in the world, making her the first woman to lead a company of this caliber.
Walmsley has a long career in the marketing sector at another company and arrived at GSK as president in a certain area. Since her arrival in 2010 to the present, Emma has been known for having a strong role and leadership in the company, and there are hundreds of articles about her. Let’s learn more about the Englishwoman.
Early education and L’Oréal
In her childhood and adolescence, she attended a boarding school for girls in Winchester, and then, at the university level, she pursued a Master’s degree in classics and languages at the University of Oxford. There is no record of another job before her entry into L’Oréal, where she spent more than 17 years and moved through various positions.
L’Oréal is a cosmetics company of French origin, and being a global company, Walmsley worked in various countries for the brand. One notable thing is that her knowledge of certain languages allowed her to settle in several countries.
Her brief but steady rise at L’Oréal began with her leadership in the marketing sector and then took her to Shanghai, China, where she had a significant experience. She became General Manager of Consumer Products for L’Oréal China and from there oversaw all product sales.
Not only that, but she had also begun managing the L’Oréal brand in Paris, one of the most important franchises as it is the country of origin, and then with other companies acquired by L’Oréal such as Maybelline and Garnier. All this path opened a door that remains her job to this day: GSK.
Entry into GSK
GSK is a global pharmaceutical company and ranks just below globally known companies like Sinopharm, Bayer, Pfizer, etc. It was previously known as GlaxoSmithKline but has been abbreviated to GSK since 2022. Walmsley joined the company in 2010 in a much lower position than her current one, as CEO of the company.
Similar to her previous role, Emma entered the pharmaceutical company as president of consumer products for a specific area. Very focused on the consumer, she began to be part of the global division team that focuses on healthcare clients.
Focused on the healthcare sector, Emma had already become the executive president of consumer sales, and this alone represented nearly a quarter of GSK’s profits, which were boosted under the Englishwoman’s leadership since 2015, when she took on this role.
In 2017 came perhaps the most significant news of her career. She became CEO of GSK, marking a notable rise in global women’s leadership, being one of the first female CEOs of a pharmaceutical company worldwide.
As for the leadership mentioned earlier in this article, Walmsley has not explicitly described her own leadership style, but colleagues and coworkers who have worked with her have described her as dynamic, firm, and pleasant. One of the distinguishing factors of the Englishwoman is that under her leadership, many employees have performance levels to evaluate their functions.
Performance indicators in companies are often a major tool to identify improvement opportunities, as well as boost motivation and execution among employees in various tasks. As for Emma, she keeps a low profile, and many were surprised by her move to GSK since she enjoyed a good reputation at L’Oréal.
It is estimated that Walmsley oversees more than 21,000 employees in the over-the-counter medicine sector, so performance level is very important to her, along with the young talent who bring innovative ideas. Six years ago, it became public that Emma had replaced 50 high-ranking individuals at GSK with new faces to renew the company’s spirit.
An action that shows she does not hesitate to change the rules of the company, doing what she sees as best or worst based on the company’s needs. Additionally, she ventured into Microsoft’s corporate world as an independent director of the executive board, a clear sign of the Englishwoman’s authority.
Fortune magazine has featured her several times as one of the most powerful international women, something she was recognized for in both 2019 and 2023. Forbes has also highlighted her, and her country honored her as Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.Herramientas