Ceylon Tobacco Co. Appoints New Chairman

Ceylon Tobacco Co. (CTC) has appointed Suresh Kumar Shah as its chairman, reports The Daily Mirror. He succeeds William Francis Pegel, who served as chairman from August 2019.

The succession follows changes to CTC’s board announced on Feb. 1, with the appointment of three new nonexecutive directors—Suresh Kumar Shah, Stuart Kidd and Rumana Rahman—bringing the number of directors on CTC’s board to eight. 

Previously, Shah served as chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the Employers Federation of Ceylon. 

He also served as Commissioner on the Securities and Exchange Commission of Sri Lanka and was a member of the Monetary Policy Consultative Committee with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and of the Council at the University of Moratuwa.

Currently, British American Tobacco’s (BAT) regional head of finance for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, Kidd joined BAT Australia in 2001. He has held various senior finance roles in New Zealand, Vietnam, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Japan. Prior to his appointment as regional head of finance, he was finance director at BAT Japan from 2015. 

Rahman is BAT’s regional head of talent, culture and inclusion for Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. She is the first South Asian female and first Bangladeshi to sit on the regional leadership team and is also the first South Asian female leader of the top 120 leaders of BAT. 

Prior to moving to Hong Kong, Rahman was the head of human resources for BAT Bangladesh. With more than 18 years of experience, she has an extensive background in human resources and specialist functions. Rahman was recognized as the most inspiring woman leader by Brand Forum in 2016.