CSL appoints new female chief after share price collapse

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 27 Oct, 04:50 · Archive

Australian healthcare giant CSL has appointed Deborah Waterhouse as its first female chief executive following disappointing earnings and a 70 per cent share price fall.

CSL, the Australian blood plasma and vaccine company best known for pioneering the Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine, has appointed Deborah Waterhouse as its first female chief executive. She replaces the former boss ousted in 2025 and takes up the role in February.

Waterhouse comes from ViiV Healthcare, a multibillion-dollar HIV specialist where she was chief executive for 10 years. ViiV is jointly owned by Japanese pharmaceuticals group Shionogi and UK giant GSK, where Waterhouse previously worked as head of its US vaccine and primary care business and as general manager of its Australia and New Zealand operations.

CSL has faced significant challenges in recent years. In August, the company reported a statutory net loss of $US2.6 billion ($A3.7 billion) for 2025/26, due to writedowns in its Vifor kidney treatment and iron deficiency businesses. This compared to a $US3 billion ($A4.3 billion) profit the previous year. Vifor, acquired in 2022, has struggled against generic competition and regulatory shifts. The company's share price has fallen approximately 70 per cent from $310 in July 2024 to a nine-year low of about $90 in June this year, and CSL has announced plans to shed about 3,000 jobs.

Outgoing chair Brian McNamee told shareholders at a meeting on Tuesday that not every decision the company made was bad, saying that Waterhouse 'ticks all the boxes' needed to repair the damage.

How it is being reported

• 'Not every decision was bad': under-fire plasma giantA healthcare giant famous for pioneering a cervical cancer vaccine is adamant that its underlying operations are strong, despite a torrid couple of years.Perth Now · 27 Oct, 04:15
• 'Not every decision was bad': under-fire plasma giantA healthcare giant famous for pioneering a cervical cancer vaccine is adamant that its underlying operations are strong, despite a torrid couple of years.The West Australian · 27 Oct, 04:15

In this story: CSL · Deborah Waterhouse · ViiV Healthcare · GSK · Shionogi · Melbourne · Brian McNamee

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