Greenbutts, a company that specializes in biodegradable filter technology, has appointed tobacco veteran Luis Sanches as chief strategy officer.
Sanches is a senior corporate executive with more than 30 years of international, cross-functional and cross-cultural experience responsible for managing business teams, supporting growth and leading transformations across multiple geographies such as Australasia, North and South America and Europe.
He was previously the senior vice president of R&D for Reynolds American Inc., a subsidiary of British American Tobacco. His corporate tenure under BAT spanned 31 years in total, including the position of group head of product development in the United Kingdom and vice president of Kentucky BioProcessing KBP, a leader in developing and employing cGMP processes to manufacture recombinant proteins using novel plant-based technology. He successfully led the development of novelty scientific knowledge and multi-category consumer lead product innovations.
“Never before in history have industry and humanity at large shared such a commitment to understand and urgently address matters that negatively impact the sustainability of our planet and, ultimately, our lives,” said Sanches in a statement.
“Greenbutts is pioneering solutions that will allow business partners to focus on their growth strategy and deliver their product innovation pipeline while materially advancing their ESG agendas. I am proud to join the Greenbutts team and am committed with them ‘to give every fiber of our being’ to offering meaningful sustainable solutions to our partners.”
“We are delighted to have an executive of Mr. Sanches’ caliber and industry presence, knowledge and experience join our already accomplished team,” said Tadas Lisauskas, founder and CEO of Greenbutts.
“For the past 11 years, Greenbutts has been focused on developing a viable alternative to cellulose acetate filters for the global cigarette industry, through extensive R&D and cross-continental partners. While we have had much success in achieving this goal; patenting our technology, continuously adding intellectual property to our portfolio and validating business cases on a global stage, the addition of Luis Sanches to the team is an opportunity to reintroduce ourselves to the global cigarette industry and assist in their efforts to make the inevitable transition to a zero-plastic alternative as seamless as possible,” said Tadas.
Sanches will oversee the company’s global expansion strategy regarding material and filter production. In addition, Sanches will work on optimizing the company’s filter manufacturing process to meet the regulatory needs and customer specifications.