Category: People

New MD at German E-cigarette Association

Michal Dobrajc (left) and Oliver Pohland (right) (Photo: VdeH)
Oliver Pohland has been named managing director of the German e-cigarette association Verband des e-Zigarettenhandels (VdeH). He succeeds Michal Dobrajc, who served in the position since Dec. 21, 2018.
Pohland has years of experience in the private sector and political association management. He also has an extensive network at the state, federal and EU levels. Most recently, Pohland served as the federal manager of the THW Federal Association.
Pohland, who successfully quit smoking through vaping, plans to advocate for reasonable regulation of vapor products at all levels. In his view, the beleaguered vaping sector should be given an opportunity to grow and assist smokers in switching to less harmful nicotine products.
Earlier this year, the VdeH campaigned vigorously against government plans to significantly raise taxes on vapor products.
“I am really looking forward to my new job,” said Pohland in a statement. “As managing director, I will use all my expertise and experience to create a legal framework that benefits all member companies. My goal is to give the members of VdeH a strong voice at all levels of politics.”
Dobrajc, who will continue chairing the VdeH for the time being, said he looked forward to working with Pohland.
“In Oliver, we have gained an experienced expert on the German and European political landscape,” he said. “I am confident that the VdeH will benefit from his pragmatic and honest way of working.”
September 1, 2021
Imperial Names New Nonexecutive Directors

Photo: akub Jirsák | Dreamstime.com
Ngozi Edozien and Diane de Saint Victor will join the Imperial Brands board as nonexecutive directors, effective Nov. 15, 2021.
Edozien brings over 30 years’ experience in general management, finance, consultancy and business development gained at multinational companies in Europe, the U.S. and Africa. She has considerable experience of consumer goods, having spent six years on the board of PZ Cussons and four years on the board of Vlisco, and she is currently a nonexecutive director on the board of Guinness Nigeria, a listed subsidiary of Diageo.
During a nine-year career with Pfizer, she led strategy and planning for pharmaceuticals, based in New York, before taking up a regional director role in Africa. Prior to Pfizer, she spent five years with McKinsey, working mainly in the consumer goods and pharmaceuticals sectors. She gained strong commercial experience over five years with Actis, the Africa-focused private equity business, where she originated and led deals in West Africa.
Edozien is the founder and managing director of Invivo Partners Limited, a Nigerian venture capital firm. In addition to her membership on the board of Guinness Nigeria, she is a current nonexecutive director of Stanbic IBTC Holdings and of Barloworld.
De Saint Victor will bring strong legal, regulatory and ESG experience, having held a number of general counsel and other key roles in an international career spanning more than 30 years. Her 13-year tenure as general counsel and company secretary for ABB, a global technology company based in Switzerland and her general counsel role at Airbus before that are reinforced by her prior listed U.K. board experience as a nonexecutive director at Barclays.

I am delighted to welcome both Ngozi and Diane to the board. They will bring considerable international experience across our developed and developing markets.
Therese Esperdy, chair, Imperial Brands
De Saint Victor has experience transforming organizations in sectors undergoing change, most notably at ABB where she was an executive committee member. She also brings a wealth of regulatory and government relations experience, having served as vice president of government relations for Europe at Honeywell International and as part of the U.S. government relations team in Washington for General Electric Co. She is currently a nonexecutive director at Transocean, an international oil drilling business, and is also a nonexecutive director of Natixis, the French financial services firm.
“I am delighted to welcome both Ngozi and Diane to the board,” said Imperial Brands chair Therese Esperdy in a statement. “They will bring considerable international experience across our developed and developing markets.
“These appointments reflect our continued drive to enhance our board capabilities to bring insight and experience from relevant markets and sectors whilst focusing on all aspects of diversity to ensure we have the best possible mix of skills, experience and perspective to drive the business forward.”
September 1, 2021
Executive Appointments at Imperial Brands

Paola Pocci (left) and Kim Reed (Photos: 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.
Dominic Brisby
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.”
August 27, 2021
Essentra Appoints Asia Commercial Director
Felix Koh
Essentra Filters has appointed Felix Koh as commercial director of Asia-Pacific, based out of Essentra’s Singapore office. Koh brings with him more than 25 years of senior commercial leadership experience to the team.
Prior to joining Essentra Filters, Koh held several business and sales leadership positions at Kimberly Clark, Iggesund Paperboard, International Paper and most recently with Asia Paper & Pulp, having been based in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Jakarta.
“Felix will be a key member of the Asia leadership team and will strengthen our value-add through innovation solution selling and driving sustainable sales growth,” said Hywel Thomas, global commercial director of Essentra Filters.
“I am most pleased to be onboard Essentra Filters and extremely excited to continue establishing our market leadership position through new-generation product that meets the growing trend of heat-not-burn segment of the market as well as eco-products that could be a game changer for the industry,” said Koh.
August 23, 2021
Nedal Salem to Lead BAT Malaysia

Photo: BAT
BAT Malaysia has named Nedal Salem as its new managing director, reports The Star.
The appointment follows the resignation of Jonathan Reed, who will take up the role of group head of combustibles with BAT PLC from Sept. 1, 2021.
“On behalf of the board, we thank Jonathan for his visionary leadership and accomplishments during his tenure as [managing director],” said BAT Malaysia chairman Tan Sri Aseh Che Mat. “We have seen a remarkable business turnaround under his leadership and wish Jonathan the very best in his next appointment.”
Salem is currently the managing director and CEO of Ceylon Tobacco Co. in Sri Lanka.
August 19, 2021
Anthony Johnson Joins 22nd Century Board
Anthony Johnson
22nd Century Group has appointed Anthony Johnson to its board of directors. Johnson is an accomplished life sciences and biotechnology executive leader with broad expertise in corporate strategy, technology development, marketing and business development. Johnson will serve as a member of the board’s scientific advisory and compensation committees.
Johnson is co-founder, president and CEO of Kodikaz Therapeutic Solutions, a next-generation nonviral gene therapy company. He is also a founding partner of Buffalo Biosciences, a lifescience strategic business management firm that supports the evaluation and commercialization of bioscience technologies from concept to market. Previously, he was president and CEO of Empire Genomics, where he transformed a concept formed at a university lab into a preeminent oncology molecular testing enterprise. He also served as the business leader of the stem cell and regenerative medicine franchise for Thermo Fisher (Invitrogen Corporation).
Johnson is an Aspen Institute Health Innovation Fellow and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. He currently serves on the boards of several organizations, including the WNED/PBS broadcasting service of Western New York.
“Anthony is an industry visionary in the biotechnology field and a strategy expert in both domestic and international capacities. He also holds extensive experience with boards and committees, in mentoring businesses and entrepreneurs and in serving communities,” said 22nd Century Board Chair Nora Sullivan in a statement. “We are fortunate to welcome him to our board of directors where we are confident his contributions will have a significant impact on our company’s business development, commercialization and value creation efforts.”
“Anthony is a multi-talented business strategist and leader with key relationships across the pharma/biotech, diagnostic, investment banking and funding arenas worldwide,” said James A. Mish, CEO of 22nd Century Group. “Having lived and worked in Europe, South America and the U.S., his diversity of domestic and overseas experiences will be an instrumental resource as we execute our international initiatives. We are excited to have Anthony join the 22nd Century family as we build on our broad recognition as a leading plant-based lifescience company.”

Photo: akub Jirsák | Dreamstime.com
August 19, 2021
Arcus Compliance appoints Sidebottom

Photo: tadamichi
Arcus Compliance appointed a new nonexecutive director, Robert Sidebottom.
Sidebottom has broad commercial, management and board-level experience across the vape and CBD sectors. He is the group managing director for the Eco Vape Group of companies and was formerly the managing director for the vape compliance company Adact Medical.
Sidebottom is a leading advocate of vaping, which he views as one of the essential tools in assisting smokers to quit traditional cigarettes. His commercial and compliance experience is underpinned by his qualifications and experience in project management, personnel management and finance.
“I am thrilled to be joining the Arcus Compliance leadership team, and I look forward to contributing to their strategic direction and continuing the exponential growth as the prime compliance agency in the sector,” said Sidebottom in a UKVIA press note. “The Arcus board [has] set the correct tone of professionalism and customer service, and I am very happy to have the opportunity to work with them.”
“We are thrilled to have Robert on board,” said Lee Bryan, managing director of Arcus Compliance. “He will be working closely with our other directors and in particular our other [nonexecutive director,] John Dunne. Prior to his appointment and for the last 12 months, Robert and I have discussed how we can improve vaping compliance with the aim of making products as safe as possible for the vaping community and switching smokers to the 95 percent safer alternative of vaping.”
Arcus Compliance has enjoyed rapid growth over the last 18 months and has significantly increased its market share within the SaaS space in the electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) and vape product sector. Arcus Compliance is currently regarded as the leading regulatory consultancy in Europe for ENDS products and boasts a client base of many of the world’s leading brands.
July 27, 2021
Sgambelluri Named EVP of Sales at ITG Brands

Photo: tadamichi
ITG Brands has appointed Shane Sgambelluri executive vice president of sales. Sgambelluri will report to Kim Reed, who previously held the top sales role before being named president and CEO on June 1. Sgambelluri has more than 23 years of leadership experience in the consumer packaged goods industry and most recently served as vice president of Kellogg Company’s U.S. grocery business.
At Kellogg, Sgambelluri was responsible for $2.5 billion in sales, representing over 25 percent of the company’s business. He oversaw Kellogg’s grocery portfolio serving national, regional and independent customers and led strategic joint business planning partnerships with major accounts that included Wal-Mart, 7-Eleven and Walgreens. Prior to his nearly two decades with Kellogg, Sgambelluri held positions at two national broker agencies, Crossmark and Advantage Sales & Marketing.
“Shane’s dedication to strong customer relationships and creative solutions to win in the marketplace will immensely benefit our sales operation while his experience managing large, diverse teams will be an asset to our dynamic sales force,” said Reed in a statement. “I am thrilled to welcome Shane to the ITG Brands team.”
July 21, 2021
Steve Tzimoulis Joins Nicos Gleoudis Kavex

Photo: akub Jirsák | Dreamstime.com
Steve Tzimoulis has been appointed director of sales of Nicos Gleoudis Kavex effective July 1, 2021.
Tzimoulis joins Nicos Gleoudis Kavex from Philip Morris International where he held numerous managerial positions in leaf buying, product development and manufacturing in multiple markets around the world for the past 36 years.
July 16, 2021
Poda Hires Chief Medical Officer

Photo: Poda Lifestyle and Wellness
Poda Lifestyle and Wellness has appointed Jagdeep Gupta as chief medical officer.
“I am very pleased to have received approval from the board to enter the medical device market and to create the position of chief medical officer for Poda,” said Ryan Selby, CEO of Poda, in a statement. “Quitting smoking can be difficult, and the addition of Dr. Gupta as chief medical officer will help Poda to potentially develop medically approved products and treatment strategies designed to provide adult smokers with the tools they need to successfully quit smoking.”
As chief medical officer, Gupta will be responsible for designing and implementing clinical trials designed to test the efficacy of Poda’s smoking cessation products. In addition, Gupta will also help coordinate the development of additional products and treatment strategies across a wide range of inhalable therapeutic molecules as well as coordinating and overseeing the application process for Poda’s products to achieve certification as approved medical devices for smoking cessation or the inhalation of therapeutic molecules.
“I am very pleased to be joining the Poda team as chief medical officer,” said Gupta. “As a practicing medical doctor, I have numerous patients who desperately want to quit smoking, and in my experience, existing smoking cessation products have not worked as well as I would have hoped. I am especially excited to study and develop a smoking cessation technology that not only uses a tapering nicotine dose that is very precise but also addresses the oral fixation element at the same time.”
July 15, 2021