GSK, revolution at the top: after the CEO, the Vaccines Chairman also leaves

Andrew Witty, CEO of GlaxoSmithKline, isn't the only member of the company's leadership team preparing to pack his bags.

On Tuesday 14 June, the British pharmaceutical giant announced that Moncef Slaoui, Vaccines Chairman, will retire on 30 June, marking the end of a journey that lasted almost 30 years. Slaoui, who joined GSK in 1988, has been a member of the company's board since 2006. He will remain in the company as a consultant until March 31, 2017.

17 giugno, 2016 – Daily Health Industry

Personally involved in the discovery and development of some of the giant's most innovative vaccines, he also led the review of GSK's pharmaceutical R&D. “GSK has been fortunate to benefit from substantial scientific and technical expertise over many years and I am pleased that through the end of his term he will continue to provide this invaluable experience to the company,” Chairman Philip Hampton said in a statement.

The scenario that emerges
Slaoui's exit from the scene will come immediately after that of Witty, in March 2017. The CEO announced three months ago to investors that the division of the company was the reason that prompted him to dissolve the collaboration that began in 2008.

Like Witty, Slaoui is also not a big fan of the idea: “I think that dividing the vaccine area from the pharmaceutical area will lead to a great loss of opportunity, as well as higher structural costs,” he said in a recent interview.

And while Witty he made it known that the board is united around the strategy to be adopted - i.e. increasing the volumes of low-margin products in the vaccine sector instead of high-cost pharmaceutical products that can trigger taxpayer pushback - the question regarding the break will be an aspect that his successor will have to deal with.

Between now and March 2017 both Witty and Slaoui will be looking to leave the company with heads held high as they try to boost Q1 2016 results. The possibility looks real as GSK's £6.23bn turnover exceeded analysts' expectations by more than 200 million, thanks in part to the good performance of the vaccines unit, which recorded sales of 882 million pounds.

NB: Andrew Philip Witty, aged 50, Chief Executive Officer, Executive Director, Member of Corporate Administration & Transactions Committee and Member of Finance Committee, GlaxoSmithKline plc, nel corso dell’anno fiscale 2015 ha percepiti un conpenso totale di 6.661.000 GBP (€ 8.480.560)

Moncef M. Slaoui Ph.D., age 55, Chairman of Global Vaccines, Executive Director, Member of Corporate Administration & Transactions Committee and Member of Finance Committee, GlaxoSmithKline plc, nel corso dell’anno fiscale 2015 ha percepito un compenso globale di $ 7.324.000 (€ 6.494.640 at the current exchange rate)

Related news: Glaxo's Vaccines Chairman Moncef Slaoui to Retire Next Year