HP Inc. (HPQ.US) announced it has hired former GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.US) CEO Emma Walmsley as its new chief executive, formally filling the CEO vacancy left by Enrique Lores' departure earlier this year.
In a statement on Wednesday, HP said Walmsley's appointment will take effect on January 4. She will succeed Bruce Broussard, who was named interim CEO when Lores left in February to lead PayPal (PYPL.US). Broussard will become board chairman in January next year.
Walmsley, who also serves on the board of Microsoft (MSFT.US), spent nearly nine years as CEO of the British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, making her one of the few female chief executives among FTSE 100 constituent companies. During her tenure, she guided the company through the pandemic, led the launch of an RSV vaccine and the spin-off of its consumer business into Haleon Plc (HLN.US). Company sales grew substantially and R&D investment doubled, although the share price — which fell about 10% during her tenure — left investors rather disappointed.
In her new role, Walmsley will need to lead HP in addressing the unprecedented surge in memory chip costs, which has already forced the company to raise prices on multiple PC models and redesign other products. The company said late last year that it would cut 4,000 to 6,000 jobs by fiscal 2028 through greater use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. In its third-quarter earnings announcement in August this year, HP raised its quarterly profit guidance, but investors responded tepidly, with core market concerns focused on the long-term demand outlook for PCs and printers. In pre-market trading on Wednesday, HP shares rose about 2%.
During her time at GlaxoSmithKline, Walmsley faced activist shareholder pressure from Elliott Investment Management, which questioned whether she lacked a scientific research background and was unsuitable to lead the company, but she ultimately withstood the challenge. Walmsley also completed several major deals while leading GlaxoSmithKline, and she has cautioned that M&A transactions must be pursued prudently because "in the pharmaceutical industry, nothing destroys the R&D system more than aggressively pursuing synergies."
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