Emma Walmsley

Emma Walmsley, 57, was born in Barrow-in-Furness in northwestern England and studied Classics and Modern Languages at Christ Church, University of Oxford, earning an M.A. She attended St Swithun's School, a boarding school in Winchester, before enrolling at Christ Church at the University of Oxford. Her father, Vice Admiral Sir Robert Walmsley, served in the Royal Navy and later worked in British defense procurement.

Walmsley spent 17 years at French cosmetics company L'Oréal, working in marketing and management roles in Europe, the United States, and China. In September 2016, GSK named Walmsley chief executive designate, and she officially became CEO on April 1, 2017, succeeding Sir Andrew Witty. Walmsley became the first woman to lead a major pharmaceutical company when she took over GSK in 2017. She oversaw the spin-off of GSK's consumer healthcare arm, now Haleon, and pushed to bolster its medicines and vaccines business. She also steered the company through the COVID-19 pandemic, Unilever's failed bid to buy its consumer assets and pressures from activist shareholders Elliott and Bluebell. Walmsley parted ways with GSK at the end of 2025 after nearly nine years as CEO.

She succeeds Bruce Broussard, who was named interim CEO when Lores left to run PayPal Holdings Inc. in February. Walmsley takes the reins from Bruce Broussard, who has served as interim CEO of HP since February. Walmsley's appointment will take effect on Jan. 4. Walmsley most recently served as CEO GSK (previously GlaxoSmithKline) and has been a member of Microsoft's board for seven years. Following HP's announcement, Microsoft confirmed she would not stand for re-election at its annual shareholders meeting on 8 December 2026.

Career history

• Chief Executive Officer, HP Inc. (January 2027–present)
• Chief Executive Officer, GSK (April 2017–December 2025)
• CEO of GSK Consumer Healthcare (2015–2017)
• Marketing and Management Executive, L'Oréal (17 years across Europe, United States, and China)
• Non-Executive Director, Diageo plc (2016)

What Emma Walmsley could bring to Chief Executive Officer at HP Inc.: Drawing from her nine years transforming GSK into a focused biopharma innovator through the landmark Haleon spin-off and her seven years on Microsoft's board, Walmsley brings deep expertise in leading large, complex organizations through significant restructuring and digital transformation. Her success navigating activist investor pressure, pandemic disruptions, and strategic portfolio realignment at GSK, combined with her consumer marketing acumen from L'Oréal, positions her to address HP's current memory-chip shortage challenges and position the company for growth as AI moves to edge computing and workplace technologies.