New management like to shake things up. The word from the chief executive’s office is always about “fresh departures” and “exciting horizons”. There might even be a tinkering with corporate strategy for good measure.

Yet when the dust settles, much ends up remaining the same. Large companies are sluggish, inflexible beasts when it comes to change. That’s why institutional, low-risk investors like them so much.

Enter Andrew Witty. The chief executive of UK-based pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline has ditched the standard script. He’s about change, real change. After spending a few months settling in at the helm, Witty has now sent out signals that could radically alter Big Pharma.

Upcoming Ethical Corporation conferences & events:
How to manage Social & Environmental Risk in the mining, oil & gas, steel and other heavy industries
London, 22-23 March 2010 The Responsible Business Summit 2010
Novotel West Hotel, London, 4th – 5th May 2010 The Inaugural Ethical Corporation Awards
Novotel West Hotel, London, Evening of 4th May 2010
The Awards will be held at the Responsible Summit -
on the evening of the first day
Please login to view whole article - or subscribe here.
For a free two week trial to Ethical Corporation online, please click here.