London, April 27, 2026, 19:05 BST
- Haleon has tapped Richard Manso, who previously held a marketing executive post at Google, as its new U.S. chief marketing officer.
- That shift lands while the Sensodyne maker is midway through a £500 million buyback, with a Q1 trading statement due this week.
Haleon PLC on Monday named Richard Manso—who previously held a senior post at Google—as its new U.S. chief marketing officer. The move puts Manso in charge of marketing in Haleon’s biggest, highest-profile market, at a time when demand for certain consumer health products is still inconsistent.
The timing around the hire is key as Haleon looks to ramp up U.S. growth ahead of its April 29 first-quarter trading update and annual general meeting. Manso steps in to head up the company’s integrated U.S. marketing operations, reporting directly to Nathalie Gerschtein, CEO, U.S. and president, North America, according to Haleon.
Manso’s remit covers over-the-counter medicines—think products you can pick up without a script—plus newer angles like GLP-1 health platforms, women’s health, and pediatric care. GLP-1 drugs, often prescribed for diabetes and weight loss, are drawing attention from consumer health players who see potential spillover demand in digestive care and nutrition support.
Haleon is in the market for its own stock, scooping up 8.44 million ordinary shares for cancellation between April 20 and April 24, according to a regulatory filing. Prices landed between 342.7 pence and 357.1 pence per share. Once those trades settle, the company says its tally of ordinary shares with voting rights will sit at 8.89 billion.
The purchases are tied to a £500 million on-market buyback program running through 2026, launched by Haleon in March just after it laid out its capital allocation plans in February. Buybacks shrink the share count, which can bump up earnings per share—though that cash is money not being spent on dividends, reducing debt, or new investments.
Consumers are getting “more active” in how they manage their health, Gerschtein noted. For Manso, the shift gives Haleon room to blend “data, technology, and creativity” just as more people steer their own everyday health choices. Business Wire
The appointment comes as trading conditions show some slack. Back in February, Haleon projected organic revenue growth for 2026 at 3% to 5%, falling short of its medium-term aim of 4% to 6%. Softer U.S. demand and a muted cold-and-flu season took a bite out of sales. Organic revenue, which excludes currency swings and deals, offers a clearer look at the company’s core performance.
Haleon dropped 1.38% to close at 350 pence on Monday, lagging the FTSE 100’s 0.56% decline, according to MarketWatch data. Fewer shares changed hands than the 50-day average, pointing to a quieter session for the stock.
There’s a catch: tweaks to marketing and share repurchases aren’t likely to offset the strain from squeezed consumers anytime soon. On Monday, Reuters flagged that consumer companies are feeling the pinch from rising oil, which has pushed up energy, packaging, and logistics expenses. Procter & Gamble now expects fiscal 2027 profit to take roughly a $1 billion hit. Reckitt, for its part, noted that more customers are switching to private-label brands.
For Haleon, that’s a problem—the U.S. division is already feeling the pinch as shoppers pull back and rivals undercut prices. Back in February, Quilter Cheviot analyst Chris Beckett told Reuters that plenty of American households “feel financially stretched,” and now that strain is starting to show in something as basic as over-the-counter meds. Reuters
Haleon, the maker behind Sensodyne, Advil, Panadol, Centrum, and Theraflu, emerged after GSK and Pfizer merged their consumer health operations, then spun off from GSK in 2022. Pfizer offloaded its final stake in Haleon this March 2025, handing over full control to the public market as Haleon focuses on its growth agenda.
Haleon’s first-quarter trading statement lands Wednesday, giving investors a sharper sense of the pace of the U.S. reset. So far, management is sticking to two main cues: cash returns to shareholders continue, and a marketing chief with a data-driven background is being sent into the company’s toughest market.
