Walmsley’s Dream Hire Badly Needs to Find Some Blockbuster Drugs

Nearly nine years ago, when Emma Walmsley was preparing to take over as CEO of GSK Plc, she wrote in her diary that Luke Miels — then an executive at rival AstraZeneca Plc — would be “a dream appointment for this adventure.”

Now, as Walmsley’s own adventure atop the British pharmaceutical group winds down, Miels has been named to replace her. The 50-year-old, who joined Walmsley at GSK in 2017, will take the reins as chief executive officer at the start of next year.

Luke Miels

Photographer: Charlie Best/GSK

His main challenges will be to deliver more blockbuster drugs from GSK’s labs and ...