Who is HP’s new CEO and Microsoft board member Emma Walmsley?

Summary

• HP Inc. appointed former GSK CEO & Microsoft board member Emma Walmsley as its new CEO to navigate a memory-chip shortage.
• Walmsley succeeds Bruce Broussard, who served as interim CEO since February.
• The 57-year-old executive was born in Barrow-in-Furness, England, to a former Royal Navy officer.
• She studied classics & modern languages at Oxford University after attending St Swithun's School.
• Walmsley spent 17 years at L'Oreal, rising to general manager of its consumer products business in China.
• She joined GSK in 2010, became its first female CEO in April 2017, & oversaw the spin-off of its consumer healthcare arm into Haleon.
• Her tenure at GSK included managing the COVID-19 pandemic, countering activist shareholder pressure, & navigating U.S. tariff policies.
• She departed GSK at the end of 2025 after nearly nine years as CEO.
• Walmsley has served on Microsoft's board for seven years.
• She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2020 for her contributions to the pharmaceutical industry.