Emma Walmsley
CEO-Designate, HP Inc.
HP's nine-month search for a leader is over, and the pick comes from pharma, not tech. Emma Walmsley, who ran GSK for nearly nine years, takes over as CEO on January 4, 2027, after a unanimous board vote.
The search began in February, when Enrique Lores stepped down to become PayPal's CEO. Board member Bruce Broussard has run HP as interim CEO since.
An outsider with a consumer playbook
Walmsley's career runs through consumer brands, not chips or PCs. She spent 17 years at L'Oréal running global consumer businesses, joined GSK in 2010, led its consumer healthcare unit from 2015, and ran the whole company from 2017 through 2025.
At GSK, she sharpened the company's focus on specialty medicines and vaccines and oversaw the separation of its consumer healthcare business. She has also sat on Microsoft's board for seven years, giving her a close view of the company behind Windows.
The bet: AI on the device
HP framed the hire around AI moving "to the edge": in plain terms, AI that runs on the laptops and workstations people use, not only in the cloud. That's HP's home turf. Walmsley said she'll focus on the AI era and on unlocking new sources of growth, moving "with clarity and conviction."
Continuity at the top
Broussard isn't going anywhere. On January 4 he becomes board chair, replacing Chip Bergh, who has chaired HP's board since 2017. The person who steadied HP through the search will now back its new CEO from the boardroom.
Watch her first moves in 2027. At GSK, she reshaped what the company owned. At HP, the opportunity is turning AI on devices into the next growth engine.
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