September 25, 2014
By Krystle Vermes, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
Today, global biopharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline announced that Philip Hampton will be joining the board of the company as a non-executive director beginning on January 1, 2015. He will become the deputy chairman beginning on April 1, 2015.
Hampton will be replacing Christopher Gent as the non-executive chairman beginning on Sept. 1, 2015, or earlier if he is released from his responsibilities. The appointment of Hampton comes after a recommendation by the Board’s Nomination Committee. Deryck Maughan, who is the senior independent non-executive director at GlaxoSmithKline, chairs the committee.
“We are delighted Sir Philip is joining the GSK Board to succeed Sir Christopher as Chairman,” said Maughan. “GSK is well positioned for the future, with a strong research and development pipeline and the impending transformative asset transaction with Novartis announced in April. Sir Philip’s appointment provides a clear plan of succession and we welcome him to our board.”
Hampton has been the chairman of The Royal Bank of Scotland Group since February 2009. Previously, he was the chairman of J. Sainsbury and Group Finance Director at Lloyds TSB Group, BT Group and British Gas and British Steel. He plans to leave the Royal Bank of Scotland in 2015.
“It has been a privilege to serve as chairman of RBS since 2009,” said Hampton. “I am looking forward to working with my colleagues in the months ahead as we work to implement the bank’s strategy and continue to improve the support we provide to our customers.”
Turmoil in China
On Sept. 19, GlaxoSmithKline announced the results of an ongoing investigation by Chinese officials who accused the company of bribery. A Chinese court officially found GSK China Investment Co. Ltd. guilty of bribery claims and fined it approximately $500 million. The money will be given to the Chinese government.
“Reaching a conclusion in the investigation of our Chinese business is important, but this has been a deeply disappointing matter for GSK,” said GSK Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Witty. “We have and will continue to learn from this. GSK has been in China for close to a hundred years and we remain fully committed to the country and its people. We will continue to expand access to innovative medicines and vaccines to improve their health and well-being.”
The illegal activities of GSK China Investment Co. Ltd. were deemed an explicit breach of GSK’s governance and compliance procedures.
