For the first time in big pharma history, a woman is set to take the helm of an international pharmaceutical company. Earlier this year, UK pharma GlaxoSmithKline announced the appointment of Emma Walmsley to succeed Andrew Witty as CEO. Walmsley, who is currently the CEO of GSK Consumer Healthcare, will make the step across April 1, 2017 after Witty retires.
Walmsley may be the first of her kind, but is far from the only woman leading a company in the industry. Heather Bresch has long been lauded for her role at generic drugmaker Mylan (despite the recent controversy over the pricing of EpiPen), while United Therapeutics was founded by CEO Martine Rothblatt. Overall, biotech has a much better record than its pharma counterparts.
