Fortune Editors
7 min read
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Just a few months into 2025, it became clear that the year would be unlike any other in recent memory, because of tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde characterized the uncertainty as “high and rising.” Companies have acknowledged that what lies ahead will be impossible to predict.
Among those faced with the changing world order are some of the Most Powerful Women in business. Now in its 28th year, the annual ranking recognizes 100 women leading major global companies. This year, 21 listees are at the helm of European companies. Whether running some of the world’s biggest fashion houses or energy companies, they embody Europe’s female leadership power.
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That also means the ever-shifting tariff crisis affects some of their businesses directly or indirectly. For instance, British pharma giant GSK makes 50% of its revenue from the U.S.
GSK is “a global company, and pharma supply chains are complex … so we have options to mitigate what may come,” Emma Walmsley, GSK’s CEO, tells Fortune. “It’s not wrong to say being a CEO is a lonely job, but it’s a lot less lonely when you work alongside extraordinary people.”
MPW leaders tell Fortune that the onus of navigating a nebulous world will not just fall on the top tier. It will need collective intelligence and synchrony from different experts and geographies.
“It’s not wrong to say being a CEO is a lonely job, but it’s a lot less lonely when you work alongside extraordinary people.”
“I don’t claim to know everything or have all the answers,” notes Belén Garijo, CEO of German giant Merck Group. But the company of 62,000 people in life science, health care, and tech always plans for various scenarios.
“It’s never just about me. One of my key leadership principles is to surround myself with smart, capable people,” Garijo says.
CEO
GSK — U.K.
Walmsley, one of pharma’s most powerful bosses, is entering the ninth year of her ambitious turnaround mission at GSK, driving the company forward in discoveries related to cancer and antimicrobial resistance, while doubling down on AI.
Walmsley started her career at L’Oréal. She worked for the French cosmetic company for 17 years, holding various general management and marketing roles in Paris, London, and New York. In 2010 she joined GSK as president of Consumer Healthcare Europe, and took over as CEO in 2017.
A turning point for Walmsley during her career at GSK was the breakthrough of Arexvy, the world’s first RSV vaccine, which generated $1.6 billion in sales in its first year after launching in the third quarter of 2023. The vaccine was a triumph for the pharma company after it failed to develop a COVID jab.
