BRITISH drugmaker GSK on Monday named Luke Miels as its CEO designate. He will take over from Emma Walmsley, who steps down after nine years leading the company.
Miels will formally assume the role on January 1. He will be responsible for steering GSK towards its target of generating more than 40 billion pounds ($53.78 billion) in annual sales by 2031.
Remuneration
Miels’ annual base salary will start at 1.38 million pounds, lower than Walmsley’s 2025 salary of 1.43 million pounds, according to GSK’s annual report.
He will also receive an on-target yearly bonus of 150 per cent and a long-term incentive grant equal to 7.25 times his salary.
Who is Miels?
Miels, 50, joined GSK in 2017 as chief commercial officer. He has overseen the company’s global medicines and vaccines portfolio, which generates annual sales of over 20 billion pounds across more than 100 countries.
He is an Australian national, holding a biology degree from Flinders University and an MBA from Macquarie University. He began his career as a sales representative at AstraZeneca before moving into senior roles at Sanofi and Roche.
Career path
AstraZeneca
1995 – 2000: Sales and marketing roles
Sanofi-Aventis
2004 – 2006: Vice President, Sales Metabolism, New Jersey, USA
2004: Integration Officer, North America, Sanofi/Aventis merger
2003 – 2004: General Manager & Managing Director, Aventis Thailand
2002 – 2003: General Manager & Managing Director (Acting)
2000 – 2001: Head, Strategic Planning and Portfolio Management
Roche Pharmaceuticals
2009 – 2014: Regional Head, Asia Pacific (Shanghai, then Singapore)
2006 – 2009: VP/Head of Metabolism & Anemia Global Marketing, Switzerland
AstraZeneca
May 2014 – August 2017: Executive Vice President, European business
Earlier: Executive Vice President, Global Product and Portfolio Strategy, Global Medical Affairs, and Corporate Affairs
GSK
September 2017 – Present: Chief Commercial Officer
(With inputs from Reuters)
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