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GlaxoSmithKline’s first female finance chief comes from Burberry: Julie Brown succeeds Iain Mackay who will retire in May
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Check-in: Julie Brown was previously interim finance chief at AstraZeneca, GSK’s main British rival
Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) becomes London’s largest publicly traded company with both a female boss and chief financial officer after stripping an executive from Burberry.
The FTSE 100 group said Julie Brown, the luxury fashion brand’s chief operating and financial officer, will join in April and succeed financial boss Iain Mackay, who will retire in May.
Brown spent nearly six years at Burberry, but is also a seasoned executive in the pharmaceutical industry. Before that, he was interim finance chief at AstraZeneca, GSK’s main British rival.
She also worked at bandaging and medical device manufacturer Smith & Nephew and is a non-executive director at Swiss healthcare company Roche, a position she will likely have to relinquish. And she has served as a member of Boris Johnson’s board of directors.
“I am absolutely delighted to have Julie join the leadership team….[she] is a highly experienced CFO with a tremendous understanding of the biopharma industry,” said Emma Walmsley, GSK chief executive.
“I want to thank Iain for everything he has done and for his leadership and support for our people. He has played a very important role in bringing about the reform of GSK.”
Brown will receive a base salary of just over £915,000 a year, with a potential bonus of the same amount and share awards of up to £1.8 million.
Her arrival will make GSK the largest company on the London Stock Exchange with an all-female executive team.
Other leading companies with all-female leaders include NatWest, led by CEO Alison Rose and chief financial officer Katie Murray, and insurance company Aviva, led by Amanda Blanc and chief financial officer Charlotte Jones.
GSK recently converted its consumer health company, which makes brands like Sensodyne toothpaste and Panadol painkillers, into a new company called Haleon, which went public in July, while GSK focuses on drug and vaccine development.
GSK aims to grow revenues by at least 5 percent and profits by 10 percent over the next five years, and reach annual sales of at least £33 billion by 2031.
The stock rose 0.9 percent, or 11.8 pence to 1,325 pence.