13 October 2020 - Deborah Wilkes
GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK’s) chief executive officer Emma Walmsley has been honoured, Ascendis Health has hired a new finance chief and Glanbia has a new chairman.
GSK’s Walmsley becomes a Dame
GSK's chief executive officer Emma Walmsley has been recognised in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List in the UK.
Walmsley is now a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE).
She joined GSK in 2010 as head of the company’s Consumer Healthcare business and has led GSK since April 2017.
The list pointed out that Walmsley was the first woman to run a major global pharmaceutical company.
“As a strong advocate of diversity and inclusion, and particularly of women in leadership,” stated the list, “Emma has implemented a company-wide focus on valuing every individual employee, overseen the introduction of 400 GSK science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) ambassadors in schools across the country, and led GSK to being ranked as a top global employer by Stonewall and recognised in The Hampton Alexander Review for gender equality.”
The list noted that GSK’s 2019 sales had risen by 8% and its 2019 profits before tax had increased by 25%.
Ascendis Health hires new finance chief
Ascendis Health has recruited Cheryl-Jane Kujenga as chief financial officer and an executive director with effect from 1 December 2020.
She replaces Kieron Futter who resigned from the South African company with effect from 30 September 2020 (click here to read the News story).
Kujenga most recently worked for Adcorp Holdings where she was chief financial officer and then interim chief executive officer. Before that, she spent nearly a decade as a partner at Ernst & Young.
Glanbia names new chairman
Irish nutrition firm Glanbia has named one of its independent non-executive directors, Donard Gaynor, as chairman with effect from 8 October 2020.
Gaynor replaces Martin Keane who will remain on the company’s board until his retirement at the 2021 Annual General Meeting.
Glanbia said Gaynor would be chairman until no later than the 2022 Annual General Meeting, at which point he will have served on the board for nine years.
The company plans to announce a successor in advance of that date.