Juul Appoints New Board Members

Juul Labs CEO K.C. Crosthwaite will also become chairman of the company’s board, succeeding co-founder Adam Bowen, reports Bloomerg. Bowen, who became Juul’s first chairman when Crosthwaite joined the company last fall, will head up the product committee.

Juul also appointed Teresa Sebastian, an executive with financial and compliance expertise, to join its board as the company seeks to reset its business and diversify its ranks.

Sebastian is the first black member of the company’s eight-person board. In May, Juul added former Canadian Health Minister Rona Ambrose as an independent director, making her its first female board member.

The changes come at a pivotal moment for Juul, with corporations under pressure to promote diverse voices and Juul trying to shore up its finances and win regulators’ permission to keep selling its e-cigarettes in the U.S.

“We are all aware that our company is entering a critical period,” Bloomberg quoted Crosthwaite as saying. “With the support and oversight of our increasingly robust board, we will deliver our first PMTA submissions to the FDA, while continuing the work of combating underage vaping and transitioning adult smokers all around the world from combustible cigarettes.”

Applications with the Food and Drug Administration are due Sept. 9.