Category: People

  • BAT Design Chief Focuses on Simplicity

    BAT Design Chief Focuses on Simplicity

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Ken Kim, BAT’s design chief, is the first Korean to oversee the design process of all of BAT’s tobacco products, focusing on simplicity and the user experience, reports The Korea Herald.

    “My priority when designing heating tobacco products was that the item should become one of the three products that consumers can carry with them all the time, along with a phone and wallet,” said Kim during an interview.

    Kim said that with the latest product, Glo Hyper X2, he and his design team focused on the smallest details, like how consumers with different finger lengths could comfortably close the product’s iris shutter and the most convenient shape for switches used in iris shutters.

    “I also held a lot of meetings with the engineers to best design products that have the size and width to fit comfortably in consumers’ hands,” Kim added. “As such, we put a lot of effort into researching how to best design our products. We wondered if consumers will actually take notice of such efforts but concluded that for their satisfaction, this was a duty we must complete.”

    Kim highlighted the strengths of products with simple, refined designs. “Designs for a product is only complete when its function part has been fully supplemented,” said Kim.

  • Holography Trade Body Adds General Secretary

    Holography Trade Body Adds General Secretary

    Micaal Sidorov | Image courtesy of the IHMA

    The International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA) has appointed Micaal Sidorov as its new general secretary.

    Sidorov brings experience in business development, sales and marketing, market research and intellectual property management, working widely across the ID document and security printing sectors.

    He will work to develop and expand the membership base of the IHMA, in particular to include more nontraditional members coming from outside the security and brand protection industries. Developing collaborative initiatives with the Counterfeit Intelligence Bureau, which includes expanding the Hologram Image Register to include images for other optically variable devices besides holograms, Secure Identification Union in China and Intergraf, the security printers trade association, will also be priorities. Other plans include a series of workshops, with the first one to be held in Abu Dhabi this spring.

    “The IHMA board looks forward to working with Micaal to continue to promote the best interests of holography, which is an important and growing sector, across the world,” said Paul Dunn, chair of the IHMA. “Despite the economic, social and global supply chain challenges, we continue to see strong activity for holography with brand manufacturers and countries bringing forward their anti-counterfeiting plans. Micaal will help the industry to continue to grow and innovate, which remains the mission of the IHMA as well as supporting the sector [to] meet the challenges it faces.”

  • Charlotte’s Web Appoints BAT Group Head to Board

    Charlotte’s Web Appoints BAT Group Head to Board

    Image: Rawpixel.com | Adobe Stock

    Charlotte’s Web Holdings, a supplier of cannabidiol (CBD) hemp extract wellness products, has appointed Jonathan P. Atwood to the company’s board of directors, according to PR Newswire. Atwood is currently the group head of business communications for BAT and is responsible for BAT’s external, internal and corporate brand communications. Atwood was designated as a board nominee by BAT in connection with its November purchase of convertible debenture in Charlotte’s Web.

    Atwood held senior management positions at Unilever, most recently leading global supply chain communications. Prior to that, he led sustainability and corporate communications for Unilever North America. Atwood is an advocate of sustainability and has worked closely with B Corps companies.

    Charlotte’s Web is the only publicly traded CBD B Corp-certified company.

    “We welcome Jonathan as a valuable addition to the board where he can support our international and sustainability ambitions. We look forward to working closely together on our mutually shared interests,” said John Held, chairman of the board of Charlotte’s Web.

    Atwood’s appointment brings the total number of directors on the Charlotte’s Web board to six.

  • Appointments at RAI

    Appointments at RAI

    Priscilla Samuel (Photos: RAI)

    Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) has appointed two senior leaders within its operating companies.

    Priscilla Samuel, currently senior vice president of scientific regulatory affairs within the Reynolds organization, has been appointed to the role of executive vice president of scientific research and development, succeeding James Murphy. In her new role, Samuel will serve on the RAI management team and report to Reynolds’ president and CEO, Guy Meldrum. Murphy will join the BAT management board as director of research and science, reporting to BAT CEO Jack Bowles.

    In her role, Samuel will oversee the Reynolds organization’s scientific research and product development efforts on tobacco harm reduction and “beyond nicotine” as well as regulatory strategies and advocacy efforts, accelerating the delivery of the global BAT Group’s “A Better Tomorrow” corporate purpose in the U.S.

    She is an experienced research and development executive, a seasoned business leader and a scientist, with strategic global expertise in scientific and regulatory affairs, product and ingredient innovation, clinical and pre-clinical research and key opinion leader engagement. Before joining Reynolds, Samuel was chief science officer for Blue California, an ingredient company, and before that, she held progressive research and development executive roles with companies across the food, supplement, ingredient and nutrition sectors, including PepsiCo, Mead Johnson/Bristol Myers Squibb, Tate and Lyle, PureCircle Ltd. and Standard Process Inc.

    Jonathan Reed

    Jonathan Reed, currently group head of combustibles at BAT, will succeed Jorge Araya as executive vice president of marketing and chief commercial officer within the Reynolds organization and join the Reynolds American management team. Araya will transition into the role of area director of South Eastern Europe at BAT.

    In his role, Reed will oversee U.S. marketing functions, including consumer, trade and digital marketing, and support the global strategy through a sharp focus on driving U.S. volume share growth as well as increasing U.S. revenue from the group’s U.S. strategic portfolio. Reed’s career with the BAT Group spans over two decades. He has held a variety of senior marketing and general management roles in Europe, Indonesia, the South Pacific, the Middle East and Malaysia.

  • Gotham Rebrands as NGG Capital

    Gotham Rebrands as NGG Capital

    Kelly Michols

    Gotham Cigars has changed its name to NGG Capital, reflecting the growing portfolio of e-commerce businesses that make up the NGG Capital family.

    Along with the name change, NGG Capital is building a high-end management team to support the growth of the organization. It has hired Kelly Michols, an industry executive in both the tobacco and nutritional supplements business, as chief operating officer.

    While serving as the president of STG Lane, Michols oversaw the successful redevelopment of heritage tobacco brands such as Captain Black and Bugler, along with the introduction of Talon, one of the most successful new tobacco products in the past decade.

    Michols also served as the chairman of the Pipe Tobacco Council. While in the nutritional supplement industry Michols was a senior executive with Rexall Sundown, METRx and Celsius, bringing multiple successful brands to market.

    Michols will manage NGG Capital’s day-to-day activities and work with owner and CEO Manny Balani on future expansion opportunities.

    “I am very excited to work together with Kelly. His background and knowledge is a perfect fit for our current portfolio of products, and his expertise in growing business, brands and organizations will be extremely valuable as we grow NGG Capital”, says Balani.

    “The name change to NGG Capital is in response to our company’s growth and is in alignment with our corporate vision. While growing Gotham Cigars and A1 Supplements will continue to be our focus, we plan to add additional on-line retail businesses to our portfolio as we identify them. NGG Capital provides a foundation that will allow us to easily integrate these new opportunities into our current business in a seamless and efficient way. We are very excited about our future.”

    NGG Capital is actively looking for acquisition targets and invites interested parties to contact it with potential portfolio addition opportunities

  • Habanos Appoints First Woman as Co-President

    Habanos Appoints First Woman as Co-President

    Maritza Carrillo González (Credit: Habanos S.A.)

    Habanos S.A., the manufacturing and distribution arm of the Cuban cigar industry, has announced that Maritza Carrillo González has been appointed as its new co-president after being approved by Habanos shareholders.

    Carrillo’s promotion is “endorsed by the experience, knowledge and work she has been performing for several years in different positions within Habanos, S.A. and other entities related to Habanos,” according to a release.

    She is the first woman to serve as co-president of the company. She is rumored to be replacing Inocente Núñez Blanco as one of the company’s two co-presidents alongside fellow co-president Luis Sánchez-Harguindey Pardo de Vera.

    Carrillo holds a degree in International Economic Relations and has been linked to the world of Habanos since serving as a founding team member of the company.

    She has held various responsibilities in the commercial, marketing and business development divisions of Habanos.

    From 2006 to 2011, she served as marketing director and head of Havanesa stores at Empor, S.A. (the exclusive Habanos distributor in Portugal).

    In 2011, she was promoted to serve as business development director of the company.

    She later assumed the position of president of Comercial Iberoamericana S.A. (COIBA) based in Spain.

    In 2021, Carillo became general manager of Tabagest S.A., where served until her recent appointment as co-president of Habanos.

    The move comes as the company is preparing for the 23rd edition of the Habanos Festival taking place from Monday, Feb. 27th, to Friday, March 3rd. It is the premier event for the Cuban cigar industry.

    Habanos reported a turnover of $568 million in 2021, up 15 percent growth over the previous year.

  • CTP Hires New Office of Science Director

    CTP Hires New Office of Science Director

    Matthew Farrelly (Credit: RTI International)

    The new director of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s tobacco science division is Matthew Farrelly, former chief scientist and director of the Center for Health Analytics, Media, and Policy for RTI International.

    In an announcement, the FDA’s Center of Tobacco Products (CTP) stated that Farrelly’s extensive work in the field of tobacco and nicotine science for more than 25 years, and being recognized internationally as an expert with proven leadership and organizational management skills will help him succeed as the director of the CTP’s Office of Science.

    “He has led or been involved with numerous scientific endeavors related to tobacco control policies and regulatory approaches, including those related to graphic health warning labels, excise taxes, smoke-free policies, quitlines, state tobacco control programs, retail advertising, and flavored tobacco products,” the release states. “He has also extensively researched the influence of mass reach health campaigns, including FDA’s The Real Cost.”

    Farrelly also has authored or co-authored over 120 articles in peer-reviewed scientific literature, according to the release. He earned his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Maryland at College Park.

    Farrelly joins the CTP as the agency faces a series of major tobacco-related decisions, including a potential ban on menthol cigarettes, lowering nicotine levels, and the next step in its ongoing attempt to regulate Juul and other electronic cigarettes.

    Farrelly will replace Matt Holman, who left the position last year to join Philip Morris International. Holman was hired in 2017 and took over for David Ashley.

  • Alex Norcia Leaves Filter

    Alex Norcia Leaves Filter

    Image: Charnchai saeheng | Adobe Stock

    Tobacco harm reduction (THR) reporter Alex Norcia is leaving Filter magazine “and [departing] from journalism,” he wrote.

    Norcia has written for Filter for the past two years, and he wrote for Vice before that.

    “I will remain involved in THR,” Norcia wrote. He broke the story about the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s “Fatal Flaw” standard as well as dug into synthetic nicotine before the topic caught fire.

    “Reflecting on the events I’ve reported for the better part of four years leaves me with a sense of just how fast the news moves. But it can get, unfortunately, repetitive,” he wrote about his experiences. He cited cyclical news like flavor bans that have spread across states and the impacts of such laws. He noted his favorite moments as well, detailing a well-rounded career in THR reporting.

    “Now, like everybody else, I’ll be waiting to see if the FDA bans menthol combustibles or lowers the nicotine levels in cigarettes or ever authorizes a flavored nicotine vaping product (even menthol),” he wrote. “Or whether, on the world stage, more countries will follow pathways like the United Kingdom, Sweden or Japan—or, conversely, prohibition-oriented responses like India, Taiwan and Mexico.

    “I don’t know the answers to these questions. Like other observers in this rapidly evolving field, I’ve never been able to predict the future. But I’ll still be doing what I can to address the present.”

  • Andrew Gilchrist Joins Imperial Board

    Andrew Gilchrist Joins Imperial Board

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Andrew Gilchrist will join Imperial Brands’ board as a nonexecutive director effective March 1, 2023, according to a company press release.

    Gilchrist, who was chief financial officer of Reynolds American Inc. until its acquisition by BAT in 2017, has two decades of operational and financial experience in the tobacco sector. At Reynolds, Gilchrist held a range of leadership positions, including chief information officer, chief commercial officer and business development director. Earlier in his career, he worked for BAT in marketing and planning roles.

    Imperial Brands Chair Therese Esperdy said, “I am delighted to welcome Andrew to the board. As well as the combination of his commercial and financial experience across our industry, he has a proven track record of business development, strategic planning and business integration. These skills and capabilities will further strengthen the board’s effectiveness as we continue the transformation of Imperial Brands.”

    Gilchrist will also join the audit committee and the people and governance committee effective March 1, 2023.

  • Arthur J. Schick Jr. Joins Universal Board

    Arthur J. Schick Jr. Joins Universal Board

    Image: Tobacco Reporter archive

    Arthur J. Schick Jr. will join Universal Corp.’s board of directors on April 1, 2023, at which time the board will expand to nine directors, eight of whom are independent, according to the company.

    “We are thrilled to welcome Art Schick to our board of directors,” said George C. Freeman III, chairman, president and CEO of Universal Corp. “Art is an experienced, well-respected global consumer products executive with in-depth knowledge of the food and beverage industry, and he has deep-rooted expertise and knowledge of the ingredients industry from the top down. He brings tremendous value to Universal, with over four decades of experience in ingredients, strategic supplier development, procurement, operations, international supply chain management and product research and development.”

    Schick is a 35-year veteran of PepsiCo, where he served his last 17 years as the vice president of proprietary flavors within the beverage concentrate division. In that role, Schick led PepsiCo’s organization that manufactured all proprietary flavors for the company’s global beverage brands and led the global sourcing strategies and supply chain management for the organization. Schick also spent over a decade as a contributing board member for the Flavor Extract Manufacturers Association (FEMA), the premier national association of the U.S. flavor industry, serving as FEMA’s president in 2013. Schick currently serves as president of Alpha Sierra Global, a company providing strategic and operational consulting to companies focused on consumer products, flavor compounding and ingredients.

    “When presented with the opportunity to serve on Universal’s board of directors, I was impressed with the company’s long and successful history in international tobacco operations, and I was excited about the tremendous upside potential for the company as it expands its plant-based ingredients platform,” said Schick. “Universal already has a strong foundation and sustainable strategy to position itself as a leader in the ingredients space. I look forward to working with my fellow directors and the company’s management team as Universal charts its course for a bright future.”