Philip Morris International has appointed Dessislava Temperley to its board of directors.
Temperley is a former global public company chief financial officer with more than 25 years of experience across a variety of sectors, working for several blue-chip multinationals. According to PMI, she has a proven track record of delivering strategic change with strong operational leadership resulting in superior financial results, most recently as group CFO and executive board member of Beiersdorf.
Prior to this, she held several senior positions at Nestlé. She is also a nonexecutive member of the board of directors for Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, Corbion and Cimpress.
“We are pleased to have Dessi Temperley join the Philip Morris International board of directors,” said PMI Executive Chairman André Calantzopoulos in a statement. “She brings extensive experience with financial planning and strategy, M&A and reporting to drive our business performance, and help navigate the increasing pace and scale of PMI’s continued evolution toward delivering a smoke-free future and beyond.”
Mitch Zeller, the director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products, plans to retire in April 2022 after serving in the post since 2013, reports The Washington Post. In a letter to staff, acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock praised his work as “invaluable and instrumental” to advancing “numerous historic public health milestones in tobacco regulation.”
A graduate of Dartmouth College and the American University Washington College of Law, Zeller has been working on FDA issues for more than 30 years. He began his career as a public interest attorney in 1982 at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). In 1988, Zeller left CSPI to become counsel to the human resources and intergovernmental relations subcommittee of the House of Representatives’ government operations committee, where he conducted oversight of enforcement of federal health and safety laws.
In 1993, Zeller joined the staff of then FDA Commissioner David Kessler. What began as a two-week assignment by Kessler to examine the practices of the tobacco industry led to his serving as associate commissioner and director of the FDA’s first Office of Tobacco Programs. Instrumental in crafting the agency’s 1996 tobacco regulations, Zeller also represented the FDA before Congress, federal and state agencies. Zeller also served as an official U.S. delegate to the World Health Organization working group for the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
In 2000, Zeller became executive vice president of the American Legacy Foundation. His responsibilities there included marketing, communications, strategic partnerships and, in 2002, creating the foundation’s first Office of Policy and Government Relations. That year, Zeller joined PinneyAssociates, where, as senior vice president, he provided strategic planning and communications advice.
He left PinneyAssociates in 2013 to begin his second stint at the FDA.
E.P. Carrillo has hired Jorge Luis Fernandez Maique, a former Habanos executive, as its new general manager, according to Halfwheel.
Maique will oversee the operations of Tabacalera La Alianza, the company’s factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic, a move that will free up Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr. to travel and explore new types of tobacco that he is looking at using for new projects in 2022 and beyond.
Lissette Perez-Carrillo said Maique’s role will continue to evolve and will likely expand in the future, including bringing him to the United States. “We want to maximize his talents,” she said, adding that he will be contributing his expertise to product development and marketing efforts. There are also discussions about having him lead consumer events.
Maique served as co-president of Habanos from February 2011 to November 2012. He also served as the company’s commercial vice president and oversaw the operations of Coprova, the French distributor of Habanos products, for seven years. He has been credited with being one of the people responsible for the Cohiba Behike line.
Ceylon Tobacco Co. (CTC) has appointed Monisha Abraham as managing director and CEO, the company announced on its website.
Prior to joining CTC, Abraham served as the managing director of Ibecor, an operating company fully owned by Heineken International. Abraham takes over from Nedal Salem who served as CTC’s managing director and CEO since May 2019.
During a career spanning over 16 years with Heineken, she has held senior management roles across five countries. Abraham joined Heineken Dubai in 2005, as trade marketing manager and in less than two years, was appointed marketing manager for the Gulf region. In 2009, she moved to the Netherlands as the regional marketing director for the Africa-Middle East region and later served as the managing director for Almaza in Lebanon from 2014 to 2017. She then moved to Heineken Hanoi as its managing director from 2017 to 2019, leading the northern area of Vietnam.
In 2019, Abraham moved to Brussels, Belgium where she took over as managing director of Ibecor, a Heineken-owned company specializing in inbound logistics and transportation for Africa and Middle East.
Possessing more than 25 years of experience in marketing and general management roles across the fast-moving consumer goods sector, Abraham has built a reputation as a leader who drives robust business strategies while developing people and fostering high performing teams. She has built networks to facilitate collaboration across organizations as well as externally to drive business priorities, delivering sustainable growth in volumes and profits.
Susan Rosenblatt, who with her husband and law partner, Stanley Rosenblatt, represented plaintiffs in the notorious Engle class-action lawsuit, died Nov. 14, reports The New York Times.
In the Engle case, The Rosenblatts argued that the tobacco industry had knowingly addicted smokers and failed to warn them adequately about the dangers of its products.
In 2000, a jury awarded several representative plaintiffs $12.7 million in compensatory damages and the whole class almost $145 billion in punitive damages—the largest such award in history.
In 2003 a Florida appeals panel threw it out, finding, among other things, that the case should not have been declared a class action because each smoker’s case is unique.
In 2006 the Florida Supreme Court ruled that individuals who wanted to pursue cases could invoke some of the original jury’s findings, including that smoking causes lung cancer, that nicotine in cigarettes is addictive and that the cigarette companies concealed information about smoking’s health effects.
The International Tobacco Growers Association (ITGA) appointed Mercedes Vázquez as its new CEO during the organization’s 36th annual general meeting, which took place virtually Nov. 18-19. Vázquez succeeds António Abrunhosa, who announced his retirement after serving in the position since 1998.
Members expressed their gratitude and highlighted Abrunhosa’s role in positioning ITGA as a key player in the global tobacco sector.
“In my new role I will do my best to continue this learning process from all of you so I can ensure and reinforce the long-lasting relations with our partners so we can together overcome the common challenges we are facing in our sector,” said Vázquez in a statement.
The annual general meeting was accompanied by an “Issues Day,” which attracted more than 100 attendees from five continents, representing more than 20 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Colombia, Dominican Republic, France, Germany, India, Italy, Malawi, Netherlands, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, South Africa, Turkey, Uganda, USA, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
During his keynote address, Reuben M’Tolo Phiri, the Minister of Agriculture of Zambia, highlighted the importance of ITGA’s mission by pointing out its main objective–to help improve growers’ members livelihoods through respectful agricultural practices. Phiri also noted that ITGA’s main strength is in its member associations around the world. “Thanks to them, ITGA can benefit from national and regional engagements and build up its global network,” he said.
ITGA President Abiel Masache Banda focused on the important role that tobacco growers’ associations are playing in the fight against child labor. “ITGA and its member associations in different regions are the perfect platforms to reach out to farmers, either to work with them or to provide support when needed,” he said.
Ivan Genov
Commenting on the prevailing market conditions, Abrunhosa highlighted that 2021 saw some growth in production volumes and prices in many of the leading tobacco growing markets. However, he noted, regulations will become tougher, ultimately impacting growers across the globe. To ensure the sustainable development for the sector, income has to be sustainable as well.
ITGA Tobacco Expert Ivan Genov noted that while the momentum of 2021 is likely to persists and even accelerate in 2022, the overall situation remains volatile. Pressure on the sector is certain to remain high, he said. What’s more, the sector will be impacted by rising prices of key inputs, inflation, logistics complications and increasing sustainability pressures.
Shane MacGuill, global lead nicotine and cannabis at Euromonitor International, revealed that global cigarette volumes declined by 4 percent and illicit product accounted for 12 percent of tobacco sales in 2021. Meanwhile, the proportion of cigarettes in the total tobacco value mix continues to decline., Heated tobacco is establishing itself as the most important reduced-risk category, he observed, in part due to investment from companies and to regulatory issues surrounding vapor.
MacGuill also shared his insights into the trend toward diversification that has taken a hold among tobacco companies. The market for legal cannabis, he said, is forecast to grow to over $90 billion by 2026.
Michiel Reerink
Michiel Reerink, corporate affairs director and managing director at Alliance One International, updated the audience about the recently held Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (COP9), which remained largely closed to the public.
Discussions about heated tobacco, research of evidence on novel and emerging products as well as the guidelines on advertising were deferred without discussion until COP10, he said. Reerink also focused on the increasing regulatory requirements for supply chains and the EU’s resolution on corporate accountability.
Companies selling in the EU will likely be required to demonstrate that are no violations of human rights and environmental standards in their supply chains.
Heliodoro Campos, general manager of the Colombia tobacco Federation (FEDETABACO) discussed the plight of Colombian tobacco farmers after the withdrawal of two leading tobacco companies from the country. Campos called on the global community to support FEDETABACO plans to help Colombian growers find a substitutes for tobacco.
Innocent Mugwawa detailed the progress made by the Foundation for the Elimination of Child Labor in Tobacco’s (ECLT) “If you look back 20 years ago, sustainability and child labor were not the typical issues of the day,” he said. “This shows the vision and leadership of the IUF and ITGA to address this problem together in a unified way.”
Essentra Filters has appointed Jake Aimson as general manager, Dubai, based out of Essentra’s Dubai, UAE manufacturing facility. Aimson has been with Essentra since 2003 and was most recently the commercial excellence director for Essentra Filters.
Aimson will be responsible for operational ownership of the Dubai site. This role will provide strategic operations excellence leadership in safety, compliance, customer service, operations and continuous improvement, as well as overall accountability for achieving strategic business targets in line with the regional and divisional strategic plan. Aimson’s overall priority is to rebuild the Dubai business and create a strong foundation for growth.
“Optimization of our current business is well underway, and we are quickly progressing by investing in both capability and people to be ready for future growth,” said Aimson.
“We are already involved in building new partnerships with customers who wish to co-create greater, sustainable value in their markets – with Essentra as the preferred solutions provider to the tobacco industry in MEA.”
Philip Morris International’s vice president for market activation and support, Tommaso Di Giovanni, won the Gold Globee Award for “Communications Individual of the Year” at the 11th Annual 2021 Communications Excellence Awards. As the only gold award winner in the category this year, Di Giovanni was recognized for “Scaling communications encouraging honest dialogue and change in 100+ countries.”
“I am delighted to achieve this distinction, which reflects above all the hard and very collaborative work of our team and all our colleagues around the world, who daily share information and engage in dialogue,” said Di Giovanni in a statement.
“We can now replace cigarettes with better alternatives, and in some countries, this can be done in a matter of a decade or more. But, like any transformative vision, change needs to be explained and we have to face skepticism and misinformation,” Di Giovanni continued. “It is our collective responsibility to ensure people know the facts, understand who we are and what we stand for.”
PMI’s Internal Communications team also received a Gold Globee Award for “Communications or PR Campaign of the Year,” with the judges recognizing the company’s “enhanced engagement by rewiring internal comms during pandemic-era business transformation.” PMI created interactive content through varied internal communication platforms, including videos, roundtables, and podcast channels, to ensure continued connection with the worldwide workforce during remote working conditions.
“Philip Morris International aligned its internal communication strategy to its people-first culture to design influential communication programs during Covid-19,” said Bessie Kokalis Pescio, vice president of global internal communication, who won a Gold Globee Award as “Internal Communications Professional of the Year.”
The Globee Awards comprise 11 awards programs created to honor and recognize the accomplishments and contributions of companies, business executives, and professionals worldwide.
Richard Fitzgerald has joined 22nd Century Group as chief financial officer.
John Franzino, the company’s previous chief financial officer, has transitioned to the position of chief administrative officer, where he will be responsible for developing the company’s business processes and leading the company’s financial planning and analysis, operational finance, human resources and information technology functions.
“This is a pivotal time for 22nd Century as we build out our leadership team, particularly with the pending MRTP [modified-risk tobacco product] authorization and international launch of our VLN product,” said James A. Mish, chief executive officer at 22nd Century Group, in a statement.
“We are excited to welcome Rich to the team, expanding our financial and strategic capabilities as we work to rapidly scale the business across all three of our plant franchises. Rich brings a diverse background, including extensive experience in IP [intellectual property] and technology licensing in the life science industry, which we believe is timely as we execute on our key launch programs in tobacco, hemp/cannabis and hops.”
“John has been an important part of 22nd Century’s transformation since joining the company. He has helped the company [to] advance our primary mission in tobacco harm reduction and to take leadership positions in two new plant franchises, enabling us to expand our revenue base, diversify into international markets and build our balance sheet to its strongest level in company history.
“In his role as chief administrative officer, John will focus on further developing our corporate and operational capabilities to support our growth as we bring VLN to market, begin to monetize our hemp/cannabis portfolio and expand our global operations across all three franchises,” said Mish.
“I am excited to join 22nd Century as the company readies for a significant change in its revenue model through the launch of its disruptive VLN product and monetization of its highly differentiated hemp/cannabis portfolio through both IP and plant line revenues,” said Fitzgerald. “22nd Century has positioned itself as a critical industry partner across all three of its franchises, and I look forward to building on this foundation as we continue to scale the company.”
Pyxus International has appointed Flavia Landsberg as its new executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO).
Landsberg joins Pyxus with more than 20 years of financial experience, most recently serving as CFO of High Ridge Brands, a private equity-backed company. Throughout the course of her career, she has also served as CFO of Westminster Foods, EOS Products and Bunge Limited’s Food and Ingredients division. Landsberg began her career in investment banking and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the New York University Stern School of Business.
“On behalf of Pyxus and the board of directors, I am pleased to welcome Flavia to the company. Her impressive background in global agricultural finance, strategic planning and data-driven analytics, coupled with her proven track record of delivering profitable growth, makes her the ideal candidate as we continue to execute on opportunities to drive the business forward,” said Pyxus President and CEO Pieter Sikkel in a statement. “I am confident that Flavia’s invaluable financial leadership experience will complement the company’s vision for the future.”
Landsberg reports to Sikkel and is responsible for all aspects of the company’s financial strategy and operations, including financial planning and analysis, investor relations, treasury, financial reporting, tax and accounting. She succeeds Joel L. Thomas, who announced his retirement in June. Thomas will remain with the company in an advisory capacity through June 30, 2022, to help ensure a smooth transition.
“The board and I would like to thank Joel for providing his financial leadership and dedication to the company for the past 16 years, including the seven years he has served as CFO,” said Sikkel. “Joel has been pivotal in our company’s transformation, positioning the business for long-term success. It has been a privilege to work with him, and we wish him all the best in his retirement.”
