Executive Appointments at Imperial Brands

Imperial Brands has announced two new appointments to its executive leadership team (ELT), effective Sept. 1, 2021.

Kim Reed, the leader of Imperial’s U.S. business ITG Brands, will join the ELT as president and CEO of the USA region, and Paola Pocci joins Imperial from Procter & Gamble (P&G) to take up the role of president of the Africa, Asia, Australasia region.

The appointments will support the company’s transformation and its strategic focus on meeting consumer preferences in its five priority markets.

Reed has a wealth of experience in the consumer goods sector and a successful track record in sales and executive leadership. She has led ITG Brands since June 2021, having joined the business as executive vice president of sales, in 2019 to design and oversee a sales transformation strategy.

Pocci has broad FMCG experience having held several business leadership positions across multiple geographies. She held a number of roles during an accomplished career at P&G, most recently as senior vice president of that company’s personal care beauty portfolio based in China.  

After more than 20 years and a successful career at Imperial, Division Director Dominic Brisby has chosen to leave the business in October. 

“Both Kim and Paola are great additions to our senior leadership team and will strengthen our consumer-centric approach,” said Imperial Brands CEO Stefan Bomhard in a statement. “The appointment of Kim to the ELT reflects the importance of our U.S. operations now and the role it will play in our future success, and Paola brings significant experience of understanding geographically diverse consumers.

“Dominic has excelled in a variety of roles at Imperial, including as joint interim CEO for several months last year. He has given incredible support to me and the rest of the business, and I wish him all the very best for the future.”

The ELT was  formerly known as “executive committee.”