New Year's Honours List sees CEO of GSK knighted

The work of Andrew Witty, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has been formally recognised in the 2012 New Year’s Honours List.

Witty has been awarded with a Knighthood in commendation for his work not only towards GSK as a company, but also to the UK pharmaceutical industry as a whole and the British economy.

Despite only being in his current role as CEO of GSK since May 2008, Witty’s career with the company spans 25 years and has seen him take on a variety of roles, including the President and Vice-President of European and Asia-Pacific operations respectively.

Aged just 47, Witty has also been credited with being one of the youngest recipients of the honours this year.

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Witty is tremendously supportive of GSK’s promise to provide affordable drugs and medications to low income countries and poorer global communities, as a result offering better and bigger price discounts to those who need it most.   

In addition to this, he is particularly supportive of research and development into new and affordable vaccines and treatments for malaria.

During 2011 GSK saw third-quarter sales increase by six percent under Witty’s leadership.

Alongside his responsibilities as company CEO Witty is also a member of the UK Prime Minister David Cameron’s business advisory group.

Elsewhere in the New Year’s Honours List, the former director-general of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI) was awarded with an OBE.

Despite stepping down from the post in June last year, Richard Barker was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for the contributions he made to the pharmaceutical sector in the UK.

Furthermore, John Buchanan also received a Knighthood in recognition for his work as the chairman of Smith & Nephew, a medical devices company.

The most recent New Year’s Honours List also noted the work of ‘local heroes’ in the healthcare industry alongside industry leaders.

Christine Mills, the woman responsible for the introduction of the UK’s first mobile chemotherapy unit and founder of cancer charity Hope for Tomorrow was honoured with an MBE.

Another MBE was given to the brains behind a transport service that takes vulnerable patients to vital healthcare appointments in the English county of Essex – Stock Cares founder Terence Monaghan.

Other OBEs, MBEs and Knighthoods also went to a variety of local GP’s, doctors and medicine and health academics.

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