GlaxoSmithKline has picked insider Andrew Witty to replace Chief Executive Jean-Pierre Garnier, resolving a long-standing succession issue at Europe's biggest drugmaker.
Glaxo, which had been expected to name a new head by the end of the year, said today it had selected the president of its European pharmaceuticals business from three internal candidates.
He will take over as CEO from May 2008.
Kevin Wilson, an analyst with Citigroup, said the resolution of the succession and the implicit relative unanimity of the board was a minor positive for the shares.
Witty takes over the world's second-largest drugmaker, behind US-based Pfizer , at a testing time.
Glaxo boasts one of the largest pipelines of experimental drugs in the industry but many of its current blockbusters are losing patent protection and the group has been hit hard this year by safety concerns over diabetes pill Avandia.
With the shares falling 12% in the past five months, Glaxo has faced growing calls to improve investor returns.
The company decided in July to nearly triple the share buyback programme to £12 billion - yet some investors want more radical action, such as the divestment of the lucrative consumer health business.
