GSK welcomes new chief executive officer

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has announced that Andrew Witty will join the company as chief executive officer designate.

Currently president of Pharmaceuticals Europe for GSK, Mr Witty will succeed Dr Jean-Pierre Garnier following his retirement at the end of May 2008.

The chairman of GSK Sir Christopher Gent welcomed the appointment: “The board is confident that Andrew will build on JP’s [Dr Jean-Pierre Garnier] considerable achievements which have positioned GSK as a leader of the pharmaceutical industry.”

He added that Mr Witty’s appointment followed a lengthy and thorough selection process by the board.

Sir Christopher went on to insist that selecting a successor to Dr JP Garnier from three strong internal candidates reflected the quality of the management at GSK.

Dr JP Garnier echoed Sir Christopher’s delight in the appointment and stated that he was looking forward to working with Mr Witty during the handover period.

Earlier this month, GSK announced the appointment of Professor Sir Roy Anderson as a non-executive director of the firm.

Sir Roy, a professor of infectious disease epidemiology at Imperial College, was previously employed as chief scientific advisor to the Ministry of Defence in the UK.