GlaxoSmithKline donates $5 million to Phila.

INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS

GlaxoSmithKline chief executive Andrew Witty surprised Mayor Nutter on Wednesday by announcing a $5 million donation to the city, with no strings attached beyond the general hope that it would help young people in Philadelphia.

"We can make an impact on the next generation," Witty said at a City Hall gathering held under the banner of the British American Business Council of Greater Philadelphia.

Witty and other GSK executives joined Nutter to discuss the British pharmaceutical company's decision to move from Center City to the Navy Yard. GSK's renewed commitment to Philadelphia, with the 151/2-year lease and move to the Navy Yard, is part of the discussion within the company and the local business community about where GSK's allegiance lies. A few years ago, GSK designated its facility in the Research Triangle area of North Carolina as its North American headquarters, though North American chief Deirdre Connelly works from Philadelphia.

"GSK in the U.S. has two big footprints, in North Carolina and the Delaware Valley," Witty said after the news conference. "What we see in Philadelphia is access to a tremendous talent pool, and it's in the Northeast corridor. We have tremendous connections with academia, and that is a big reason why we also like North Carolina. It's not a question of and/or. We can do both."

Nutter said Witty had not mentioned the money previously, including in a meeting right before Wednesday's event.

"We just couldn't be more excited, and very proud, and grateful," Nutter said in an interview Wednesday night.