London, United Kingdom, September, 2025 – GSK plc (LSE/NYSE: GSK) today announced the appointment of Luke Miels as CEO Designate. He will assume full responsibilities as Chief Executive Officer and join the Board on January 1, 2026, succeeding Dame Emma Walmsley.
Luke joined GSK in 2017 and is currently Chief Commercial Officer, with worldwide responsibility for medicines and vaccines. He has been instrumental in building GSK’s specialty medicines portfolio, notably in oncology and respiratory. With senior leadership experience across the US, Europe, and Asia at AstraZeneca, Roche, and Sanofi-Aventis, Luke is considered exceptionally well-qualified to lead the company into its next growth phase.
Emma Walmsley has served as CEO since 2017, leading a comprehensive transformation of GSK’s operating performance, portfolio, and pipeline. Her tenure prioritized specialty medicines and vaccines, delivered multiple new products, and reinvigorated R&D with 15 major pipeline opportunities expected between 2025 and 2031. She also strengthened GSK’s balance sheet and spearheaded the successful demerger of consumer healthcare, creating Haleon as a new industry leader.
Sir Jonathan Symonds CBE, Chair of GSK, said: “On behalf of the Board, I want to thank Emma and acknowledge her outstanding leadership in delivering a strategic transformation of GSK, including the successful demerger of Haleon. GSK today is necessarily very different to the company she was appointed to nine years ago and has a bright and ambitious future. The company is performing to a new, more competitive standard, with performance anchored in a stronger portfolio balanced across specialty medicines and vaccines.
I am delighted to announce that Luke will be the next CEO of GSK. He has outstanding global biopharma development and commercial experience, together with a deep understanding of the company, its prospects and its people. He is extremely well placed to lead, deliver and surpass the ambitions we have set for GSK, and to generate new growth and value for patients and shareholders.”
Dame Emma Walmsley, CEO of GSK, added: “2026 is a pivotal year for GSK to define its path for the decade ahead, and I believe the right moment for new leadership. 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. Today, GSK is a biopharma innovator, with far stronger momentum and prospects than nine years ago. Most importantly, the inspiring people in our labs, factories, and markets worldwide are delivering innovation that matters to get ahead of disease. I know Luke will lead them brilliantly to even greater impact for patients. I look forward to supporting this transition and to cheering GSK’s future success as I begin my own new adventures.”
Luke Miels, CEO Designate of GSK, said: “I am deeply honoured to be appointed as the next CEO of GSK, and grateful to all the people who have supported me on this journey, especially Emma. GSK is a very special company, with outstanding prospects and enormous capacity to impact people’s health and to change lives. As the next CEO, I am privileged to take on this responsibility, with humility and ambition.”
Luke’s appointment reflects long-term succession planning by the Board and Emma Walmsley, following a rigorous process with both internal and external candidates. The priorities for GSK’s next CEO are clear: delivering shareholder value, exceeding 2031 outlooks, championing R&D, leveraging technology, and driving exceptional patient outcomes.
About GSK
GSK is a global biopharma company with a purpose to unite science, technology, and talent to get ahead of disease together. The company focuses on developing specialty medicines and vaccines, with ambitious R&D and long-term growth outlooks projecting total sales of more than £40 billion by 2031.
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