Since taking the reins at GlaxoSmithKline, CEO Emma Walmsley has been reformulating the pharma giant’s executive team.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) recently announced the appointment of HSBC executive Iain Mackay as Chief Financial Officer. Under a phased integration plan with a three-month transition period, Mackay will join GSK in January as CFO designate. He will take over the CFO role on April 1, at which point current CFO Simon Dingemans will retire. Mackay will also join GSK’s board as an executive director.

CEO Emma Walmsley has significantly revamped GSK’s C-suite since taking the top job at Britain’s largest drug maker in April 2017 – replacing 40% of the top management team within the first nine months. The departures of multiple senior executives in 2017 created a round of opportunities for Walmsley to hand-pick successors. These have included Chief Digital & Technology Officer Karenann Terrell, Luke Miels, President of Global Pharmaceuticals, and Hal Barron, Chief Scientific Officer and President of Research & Development.

The CFO hiring marks another key senior executive appointment as Walmsley focuses her team on boosting sales and improving productivity, particularly in the core pharmaceuticals division. In July GSK announced a cost-cutting plan aimed at saving the company £400 million ($512 million) per year by 2021, primarily through supply chain optimization and reductions in administration costs, according to Dingemans. It will be Mackay’s priority to execute it.

Mackay does not have a pharmaceutical industry background; rather, as Walmsley said in a statement, the Chief Financial Officer appointee has valuable experience as the finance head of another complex global organization within a highly regulated industry, Reuter reports. “He is a strong leader with a track record of driving cost, cash and capital allocation discipline to deliver strategy. These capabilities will be vital as we continue to implement our innovation, performance and trust priorities for the benefit of patients and shareholders,” Walmsley added.

Mackay will be the second consecutive banker to fill the CFO role at GSK. Simon Dingemans joined GSK from Goldman Sachs in 2011.

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