PHILADELPHIA, May 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- GlaxoSmithKline today announced the establishment of two fellowships totaling $500,000 in honor of former Chief Executive Officer Jean-Pierre Garnier, to support students enrolled at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Dr. Garnier, who received his Masters of Business Administration from the school in 1974, retired from GSK on May 21, 2008.
Dr. Garnier served as the CEO of GSK since its creation in 2001, steering it through a complex merger and driving the development of one of the strongest new product pipelines in the industry. These funds will provide an ongoing tribute to his success as the leader of the world’s second-largest research-based pharmaceutical company.
“Every successful company invests in the business to grow the bottom line,” said Sir Christopher Gent, GSK Chairman. “We believe that business should also invest in something less tangible, less quantifiable, but of equal importance-building its reputation with the society it serves. GSK is pleased to honor Dr. Garnier’s legacy by providing funds that will help develop the business leaders of tomorrow.”
“This generous gift honors an alumnus whose leadership throughout his career has changed lives, changed organizations, and ultimately changed the world,” said Robert L. Joss, Dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. “The fellowships being established in his honor ensure that Jean-Pierre Garnier will continue to have an impact on shaping the next generation of principled, innovative, and insightful business leaders.”
Investing in the Best and Brightest
To remain competitive, Stanford Business School must attract and enroll the best and the brightest students. The school’s international reputation as a leader in management education is built on the quality and diversity of its students, whose broad range of experiences and backgrounds fosters a collaborative culture. The GSK funding will provide a permanent legacy to support deserving students enrolled in programs at the school in two ways:
“Not only has JP Garnier’s leadership had a significant impact on GSK, it has also been felt by individuals around the world-from the establishment of the GSK African Malaria Partnership and the quest to eliminate lymphatic filariasis in the developing world, to countless community partnerships,” Sir Christopher said. “JP Garnier has led GSK in its challenging and inspiring mission: to improve the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better, and live longer. It is our hope that the recipients of these endowments will go on to do the same in their chosen fields.”
About GlaxoSmithKline
GlaxoSmithKline, one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and health care companies, is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better, and live longer.
About Stanford Graduate School of Business
The Stanford Graduate School of Business, located in northern California’s Silicon Valley, enrolls approximately 740 students in the two-year full-time MBA Program, 105 candidates in the PhD Program, 56 mid-career executives in the 10-month Stanford Sloan Master’s Program, and more than 2,000 participants in Executive Education programs designed to enhance executives’ professional capabilities. For more information visit: http://www.gsb.stanford.edu.
CONTACT: US Media Enquiries: Michael McTigue of GlaxoSmithKline,
+1-215-751-7709
Web site: http://www.gsk.com/
http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/
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