Connecting GSK's Rich Tradition and Our Future in Philadelphia

One of the nicest things about working for GSK in Philadelphia is that our company has such strong roots in this area. We've been here since 1830! Many of my colleagues are second- or third-generation GSK employees. So it made sense that when we held the grand opening of our new home at the Philadelphia Navy Yard this past weekend, we invited our families to join us in the celebration.

Deirdre Connelly, president of North America Pharmaceuticals, welcomed our many esteemed guests (including Mayor Michael Nutter), extending a special welcome to the 'next generation' of GSK employees. We've transformed our workspace and have a variety of settings throughout the building instead of individual offices. Deirdre noted that this work environment might become the norm by the time the next generation takes our jobs.  In the meantime, those kids had a great time exploring our new building, getting their faces painted, having their pictures taken, drawing on our meeting room walls, and watching science experiments.

The children in attendance were impressed by the "coolness" of our work environment. The adults in attendance were impressed by the announcement that our building is the first double LEED® platinum certified facility in Philadelphia, which means we earned the highest possible green building rating.

As a 15-year-employee, I felt incredibly proud of our company's history in Philadelphia, proud of our commitment to this region, and proud of our efforts to create an environmentally sustainable and collaborative work environment for our employees who work here today and for the children who might be future GlaxoSmithKline employees.

I should also add how proud I am that my cousin--an ironworker--helped build our new home at Five Crescent Drive. Every time I walk up and down our grand staircase, I am reminded of the conversations we had while he was working on our building and his promise to make us a "beautiful place to work."

They certainly did.

About GlaxoSmithKline

GlaxoSmithKline – one of the world’s leading research-based pharmaceutical and healthcare companies – is committed to improving the quality of human life by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer.  For further information go to us.gsk.com, follow us on twitter.com/GSKUS or visit our blog(www.morethanmedicine.us.gsk.com/blog/).

More information about GSK at The Navy Yard is available here: http://us.gsk.com/html/media-news/navy-yard-press-kit.html