Emma Walmsley

First woman to run a global pharma giant. And she didn’t have a science degree.

In 2010, Emma Walmsley was living in Shanghai with four kids under ten, leading L’Oréal’s Chinese consumer division.

Life was chaotic, but full.

Then came a networking lunch with GlaxoSmithKline’s CEO.

A few conversations later, she was offered the chance to run GSK’s $5B consumer health division… a sector she knew nothing about.

She almost said no.

New industry.

New company.

New country.

“It felt like a bungee jump,” she said.

But she jumped.

Seven years later, she became the first woman to run a Big Pharma company.

Emma studied Classics and Modern Languages at Oxford (yes, Latin and Greek) before spending 17 years at L’Oréal climbing through Paris, London, New York, and Shanghai.

What she lacked in scientific training, she made up for in leadership: ruthless focus, high accountability, and the belief that empathy and performance go hand in hand.

As GSK’s CEO, she led a $13B buyout of Novartis’s consumer health stake, spun off Haleon, doubled R&D spend, and placed bold bets on HIV, oncology, and respiratory breakthroughs.

Under her watch, GSK launched the world’s first RSV vaccine (Arexvy) racking up $1B+ in its first year.

In 2023, she earned $16M in pay, ranked 7th on Fortune’s Most Powerful Women list, and made it clear: she’s not here to coast.