GSK hires new chairman as it prepares for split

July 24, 2019

GlaxoSmithKline has hired a former finance chief from Novartis and AstraZeneca as its new non-executive chairman.

The appointment of Jonathan Symonds comes after a six-month search that started when the company’s former chairman stepped down after three and a half years in the role. Symonds will leave his post as deputy group chairman at HSBC, a banking group, where he has worked since 2014.

GSK is currently in readying itself to split into two distinct businesses — one will be a consumer OTC company and joint venture with Pfizer, while the other will focus on prescription drugs and vaccines. GSK predicts that its spin-off with Pfizer will pull in $12.7 billion in sales.

Read the Reuters report.