‘What we do may turn out to be role models for our children’

“Taller, Stronger, Sharper” is the brand promise for Horlicks, the blockbuster beverage from GSK Consumer Healthcare, led by 47-year old Emma Walmsley. Will Walmsley be able to deliver that promise for GlaxoSmithkline (GSK) when she takes charge of the British pharma giant on March 31, 2017?

That’s the question on everyone’s lips following Tuesday’s announcement that Walmsley has been promoted and will take over the reins from Sir Andrew Witty, making her the first woman to head a top global pharma company.

It’s a significant appointment at many levels. There’s the gender message, for one. Once she takes charge, Walmsley will be the most powerful woman on FTSE100 – the share index of 100 companies listed on the London Stock Exchange with the highest market capitalisation. GSK is a gorilla on the list with a market value of £80 billion.

The other message that the markets are reading into Walmsley’s appointment is the importance of FMCH (fast moving consumer health) products in Glaxo’s overall play and a bigger emphasis on brand strategy. Savvy marketer Walmsley, who has had a 17-year stint at French cosmetics firm L’Oreal before joining GSK Consumer Healthcare as President in 2010, makes no bones that magic can be created when first-class healthcare capabilities are married to first-class branding, consumer insights and category management.

She has been steering GSK Consumer Healthcare’s exciting $20 billion asset swap deal with Novartis that has expanded the FMCH portfolio for the company. While that might have been a factor in getting the top job, her stint in Shanghai, no doubt counted too. She was there as General Manager, Consumer Products, L’Oreal China, and describes it as “my biggest learning experience…I was very humbled by how much I didn’t know.”

Here are a few leadership thoughts she shared with this correspondent when she visited India last year:

On whether a stint in China is becoming an imperative to be a global CEO today: I don’t think it’s essential to go to China. However, I think it’s absolutely essential to have experience in a diverse environment. Leaders of global companies benefit hugely from leading in a big complicated accelerating culture that is not the one they grew up in. Whether that is India, Brazil, China, or Indonesia does not matter, but you need to understand these markets.

Likewise Indian leaders should have experiences of very heavily modern trade dominated environment because it’s different. Then you need different category experience and you need experience with small businesses that you have got to massively accelerate, and you also need experience in really difficult economic environments.

On one teacher or mentor who has shaped her career: I’ve learnt from many great bosses along my journey. I have also learnt a lot from one or two really bad bosses and I constantly remind myself about the things that they did that used to drive me mad. I think one of the biggest influences in my life has always been my father. From a work point of view not only have I learnt from my bosses, but also from people that work in my teams. I take a lot of advice from Zubair (former India head of GSK Consumer Healthcare) on different things.

On diversity and her personal ‘Lean In’ moment: At GSK we are setting targets for succession ratio, for appointment reviews and trying to think creatively about how to support young women to aggressively develop in a way that allows them to have work life balance. I see loads of ambition in young Indian female talent.

I’ll tell you a story that gives me a lot of personal confidence. I have four children. My husband told me that one day when they were in the car, he was chatting to the kids about what they wanted to be when they grow up. Our second son who then was about 12 years old pronounced suddenly that when he grows up what he wanted to be was to be very supportive to his wife in her work. Maybe what we do turn out to be role models to our children.

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