Australia's CSL names GSK executive Waterhouse as next CEO

SYDNEY, Oct 21 — Australian biotechnology company CSL on Wednesday named GSK executive Deborah Waterhouse as ​its next chief executive and managing director, effective February, seeking to turn a budding share-price recovery into sustained earnings growth.

Waterhouse will be the first woman to lead CSL since it ‌was incorporated more than three decades ago. She will replace interim CEO Gordon Naylor and be based in Britain, the Melbourne-headquartered company said.

Her ⁠appointment follows a months-long search after the abrupt ​departure of former CEO Paul McKenzie in February ⁠amid investor frustration over the company's falling share price.

Once Australia's most valuable listed company and a market ‌favourite, CSL suffered a series ‌of earnings and revenue downgrades and announced plans to cut 3,000 jobs, triggering selloffs ⁠that wiped billions of dollars from its market value over the ⁠past year.

Investor sentiment has since improved after CSL forecast growth for fiscal 2027, with its shares more than doubling from a decade low reached in June.

Chair Brian McNamee said Waterhouse had the experience needed to build on the company's recent improvement.

"In February this year we said CSL's next chief executive would need the ability to continue the momentum of our commercial performance, renew our ‌pipeline and simplify our operations without losing the science and purpose that ​built this great company," he said.

"Deborah has done all those things on multiple occasions."

Waterhouse is CEO of ViiV Healthcare, a joint venture majority-owned by GSK, and also serves as president of GSK Global Health.

She previously led GSK's US vaccines and primary care businesses and held several other senior roles at the British drugmaker, including general manager for Australia and New Zealand from 2008 to 2012.

Citi analysts said in a note her tenure at ViiV showed an ability to run a global ​business in a highly competitive market.

"Ms. Waterhouse has been thorough and consistent, and demonstrated sound commercial acumen," they said.

Marc Jocum, ‌senior ETF strategist at ‌Global X ETFs, ⁠said Waterhouse's challenge would be to "turn the share price recovery into a sustained turnaround in earnings, restore investor confidence and convince the market that CSL's best days are still ahead".

CSL reported a net loss after tax of $2.6 billion in fiscal 2026, its first annual loss since listing on the ASX in 1994, driven ‌by $7.1 billion in impairments mostly due ​to its 2022 purchase of Swiss drugmaker Vifor.

CSL shares ‌closed 0.1% lower at A$196.08 on ⁠Wednesday, while the ​broader benchmark rose 0.2%.

(Reporting by Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru and Christine Chen in Sydney. Editing by Sonia Cheema ​and Mark Potter)

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