GSK announces changes in executive management team

PHILADELPHIA and LONDON GlaxoSmithKline chief executive officer designate Andrew Witty announced changes to the company’s corporate executive management team and also outlined changes the company would be making to increase business and keep pace with the emerging global market.

According to the company, as of May 22, when Witty’s position takes effect, the new members of the team are:

• Andrew Witty, chief executive officer
• Julian Heslop, chief financial officer
• Moncef Slaoui, chairman, research & development
• Chris Viehbacher, president, North American Pharmaceuticals
• Simon Bicknell, senior vice president, company secretary & compliance officer
• John Clarke, president, consumer healthcare
• Marc Dunoyer, president, Asia Pacific
• Eddie Gray, president, pharmaceuticals Europe
• Abbas Hussain, president, emerging markets. Abbas will join GSK on June 2 from Eli Lilly and Company, where he has spent 20 years overseeing markets throughout Europe, Africa/Middle East and Australasia
• Duncan Learmouth, senior vice president, corporate communications & global community partnerships
• Bill Louv, chief information officer
• Dan Phelan, chief of staff
• David Pulman, president, global manufacturing & supply
• David Redfern, chief strategy officer
• Jean Stephenne, president and general manager, biologicals
• Claire Thomas, senior vice president, human resources
• Senior vice president & general counsel (currently vacant)

Witty wants the company to extend its “global reach and presence,” in such markets as Brazil, Russia, India, China and the Middle East. He noted that these areas are, “already contributing close to 25 percent of today’s market growth and are forecast to grow even faster in the future, around triple the rate of western countries. It is essential that we have an operating structure that is dynamic and responsive to the opportunities in these markets.”

In response to the growth in business, the company is realigning markets in North America by combining business in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico and establishing a market region in Asia. “Making the changes required to develop our business for the next decade requires a rigorous and disciplined focus on corporate strategy. A key element of this new team ... will be to proactively seek new business opportunities to expand our global reach and drive sales growth,” Witty said.