Nov 4 (Reuters) – HP Inc on Wednesday named former GSK chief and Microsoft board member Emma Walmsley as CEO to steer the PC maker through a memory-chip shortage that has driven up prices and triggered a steep industry downturn.
Walmsley takes the reins from Bruce Broussard, who has served as interim CEO of HP since February.
Here are some key facts about Walmsley:
EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION
Walmsley, 57, was born in Barrow-in-Furness, in northwestern England. She is the daughter of former Royal Navy officer Robert Walmsley, who later served as the UK’s chief of defence procurement.
She attended St Swithun’s School in Winchester and studied classics and modern languages at Oxford University.
L’OREAL CAREER
Walmsley spent 17 years at French cosmetics giant L’Oreal, holding marketing and management positions in London, Paris, New York and Shanghai.
She rose to become general manager of L’Oreal’s consumer products business in China, overseeing brands including L’Oreal Paris, Maybelline and Garnier.
AT THE HELM OF GSK
Walmsley joined GSK in 2010 and became chief executive in April 2017, the first woman to lead the British drugmaker.
She oversaw the spin-off of GSK’s consumer healthcare arm, now Haleon, and pushed to bolster its medicines and vaccines business, though investors at times questioned the strength of the company’s pipeline.
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.
Her departure came as major drugmakers faced pressure from US tariff policies, scrutiny of medicine pricing and the need to offset revenue losses from upcoming patent expirations through new product launches.
MICROSOFT, DAME COMMANDER
Walmsley has been on Microsoft’s board for seven years.
She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2020 for services to the pharmaceutical industry and business.
(Reporting by Aatreyee Dasgupta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
