GlaxoSmithKline added another female chief executive to the FTSE 100 yesterday when it announced that Emma Walmsley, its head of consumer healthcare, would become its next CEO. She’ll take over for Andrew Witty, who’d previously announced that he’s retiring in March 2017, and she’ll join the company’s board in January.
In assuming the CEO title, Walmsley, No. 33 on this year’s MPW International list, will be the seventh woman leading a FTSE 100 company as she joins the ranks already occupied by Carolyn McCall of discount airline EasyJet, Moya Greene of Royal Mail, Veronique Laury of home improvement retailer Kingfisher, Alison Cooper of tobacco company Imperial Brands, Alison Brittain of Costa Coffee owner Whitbread, and Liv Garfield at Severn Trent.
But at some $104 billion, GSK has a market capitalization far higher than any other women-led FTSE 100 company, meaning that when Walmsley takes over the CEO role, she will become arguably the most powerful woman in British business.
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EUROPE/MIDDLE EAST/AFRICA
| . |
| Stumbling out of the gate |
| Virginia Raggi, Rome’s first female mayor, was swept into office in June in an anti-establishment wave as she—a fresh face—promised to bring a new era to the city long plagued by corruption. But her lack of political experience is already catching up with her. Garbage piled up in Rome's streets this summer, five key officials have resigned, and 70 City Hall managers recently sent Raggi a letter complaining of administrative indecision and a lack of guidance. |
| New York Times |
THE AMERICAS
| O, yes |
| Jessica O. Matthews, the founder and CEO of renewable energy tech startup Uncharted Play, has closed a $7 million Series A round, making her just the 13th black female founder who has raised more than $1 million in outside investment, according to TechCrunch. Here's another shocking stat: Of the several thousand venture deals between 2012 to 2014, less than 1% of them went to black women. |
| TechCrunch |
| . |
| Letting loose |
| Embattled Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf appeared before the Senate Banking Committee for questioning yesterday about the bank's fake account scandal and was systematically skewered by Senator Elizabeth Warren, who's known for blasting big banks. "You should resign," she told him. "You should give back the money that you took while this scam was going on, and you should be criminally investigated." |
| Fortune |
| . |
| Bye, bye Brangelina |
| I'd be remiss not to mention the breakup of Angelina Jolie—actress, special envoy for the UN's refugee agency, London School of Economics visiting professor—and Brad Pitt. Fortune's Valentina Zarya looked at the lawyer who's representing Jolie in her blockbuster split. |
| Fortune |
ASIA-PACIFIC
| Finding balance |
| An unusual group of female investors have risen to the top of the venture capital world in China and have helped propel the country's technology boom, according to this worthwhile read in Bloomberg. Unlike their peers in the U.S., the women have become part of the mainstream in China: 17% of investing partners there are female and 80% of firms have at least one woman of that rank. |
| Bloomberg |
IN BRIEF
| Why Hillary Clinton gets interrupted more than Donald Trump |
| Harvard Business Review |
| What we can learn from women who break the rules |
| New York Times |
| These 10 universities are tackling gender inequality with the UN |
| Fortune |
| Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush to vote for Hillary Clinton |
| Politico |
| Airbnb, P&G, and Unilever are partnering with the Clinton Foundation to invest over $70M in women |
| Fortune |
PARTING WORDS
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| Dorothy Cann Hamilton, founder of the French Culinary Institute, who died last week |