LONDON -- GSK Chief Executive Emma Walmsley, the first woman to lead a major pharmaceutical company, will step down Dec. 31 after more than eight years at the head of the London-based drugmaker. Walmsley, 56, will be replaced by Luke Miels, currently GSK’s chief commercial officer, the company said in a statement released on Monday. While GSK achieved a number of strategic successes under Walmsley, including the spinoff of the consumer health care business Haleon, it has disappointed investors. GSK’s shares rose 3.3% to 1534.50 pence in early trading, making it the biggest gainer on the London Stock Exchange. GSK’s shares fell 11% between April 1, 2017, when Walmsley became CEO, and last Friday. “Despite the progress, the share price performance has been lackluster,” Derren Nathan, head of

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