PR Week Echo Columns

The appointment of "relatively unknown underdog" Andrew Witty as the successor to Jean-Pierre Garner, described as "one of the UK's most formidable chief executives" (The Daily Telegraph), caught analysts on the hop after months of suspense. The announcement of the long-winded process was not expected until the end of the year but was praised as "long-sighted, coherent and robust" (Andrew Jack, FT). It did however raise question marks over the immediate future of Chris Viehbacher and David Stout, both of whom were "leap-frogged" by outsider Witty (The Times). Chairman Sir Christopher Gent praised all three as "exceptional internal candidates".

Witty's experience in Asia and Africa, both important markets for the future, as well as his introduction of innovative pricing models in Europe, were said to have swayed the decision. Some eyebrows were raised over his relative lack of experience in the US, GSK's largest market, which has been facing difficulties since serious safety concerns were raised about its diabetes treatment Avandia. He also has to address calls for the less profitable consumer products to be spun off. But most analysts were cheered: "he has the CEO feeling about him" said Peter Cartwright at Evolution Securities (The Guardian).