Category: People

USTC Announces New CFO

Keith Merrick (Photo: USTC)
The U.S. Tobacco Cooperative (USTC) has hired a new chief financial officer, Keith Merrick, effective March 1, 2021.
Most recently, Merrick was the market president and senior business relationship manager for Wells Fargo in Wilson and Rocky Mount, North Carolina, where he was responsible for acquisition, credit underwriting and management of the bank’s local commercial portfolio. Prior to that, he spent 11 years as the senior vice president and chief financial officer for S.T. Wooten Corp. He also has more than 12 years of tobacco experience from his position as vice president, treasurer and director of investor relations at Standard Commercial, a predecessor company of Alliance One International.
Oscar House
“I am pleased to welcome Keith to our leadership team,” said Oscar House, USTC’s president and CEO. “His deep and extensive experience in leading the financial operations and operational changes will make an immediate impact as we manage through the current economic challenges and continue to position USTC for the future. I am confident Keith will provide strong leadership and is an excellent addition to the USTC team.”
As CFO, Merrick will be responsible for accounting, treasury, financial planning and analysis, tax, information technology and investor relations for USTC and its subsidiaries.
Merrick holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics from Texas A&M and a master’s degree in agribusiness and finance from the University of Missouri.
March 3, 2021
New Advisors to Support 1account’s

Simon Bazalgette

Murray Perkins

Ralph Topping

Mark Aylwin
1account, a technology provider to online vendors of age-restricted products and services, has created a new advisory board to support its ambitious plans in the vaping sector, which includes the rollout of a new business-to-consumer ID app to prevent underage access to vape devices and e-liquids online and offline.
Joining the new board are Mark Aylwin, former managing director of Booker; Ralph Topping, former chief executive of bookmaker William Hill; Simon Bazalgette, former CEO of the Jockey Club; and Murray Perkins, former policy director at the British Board of Film Classification.
Following 1account’s success in providing age verification technology to the vaping and gambling sectors, Aylwin will help drive the continued rollout of the company’s online technology and help businesses in the vaping sector make the transition to accepting the company’s new consumer digital ID app, 1account ID, for their online and offline commerce.
The new B2C product will help to prevent unlawful access to vaping products online and in vape retail outlets, convenience stores and supermarkets, aligning with the British government’s strategy to build a Digital Identity Trust Framework.
“The creation of a digital ID for the purchase of vape products online and offline represents a major step forward and will enable vape retailers to take the most proactive stance possible in preventing underage sales of vape devices and e-liquids,” says Aylwin. “1account can offer vape retailers a solution both online and offline that enables compliance for now and the future.”
March 3, 2021
Reynolds American Appoints Senior Leaders

Photo: RAI
Reynolds American Inc. has appointed two senior leaders.
Shay Mustafa, currently senior vice president of modern oral, will assume the role of senior vice president of business communications and sustainability, reporting to Reynolds’ president and CEO, Guy Meldrum. Mustafa will serve on the Reynolds management team and will also serve on the global business communication and sustainability leadership team.
Mustafa has successfully held leadership roles within the corporate sector and as co-founder of a technology start-up. Within the Reynolds companies, she has held a range of positions, including leading the Newport, Pall Mall and Grizzly brands. She has also set up the new modern oral business unit, which includes the Velo brand.
Leila Medeiros, currently senior vice president of vapor, will become senior vice president of new categories, which combines the leadership of the Reynolds companies’ Vuse vapor and Velo modern oral brands.
Medeiros joined the BAT Group in 2001 in Brazil and has successfully served in numerous leadership roles in different BAT geographies before assuming her current position in the U.S.
March 3, 2021
John Miller President and CEO at Swisher

John Miller (Photo: Swisher)
Swisher’s board of directors has elected John J. Miller to serve as the company’s president and chief executive officer. Miller has served in senior leadership roles during his tenure at Swisher, including most recently as president since 2017. Prior to that, he was senior vice president of sales and marketing with responsibility for its core tobacco and adjacency businesses, overseeing sales, marketing, trade and business analytics
Miller joined Swisher in 2012, and since then, he has guided the company through significant strategic change, highlighted by year-over-year record-breaking growth. A principled leader with a deep understanding of the adult consumer market, Miller has been instrumental in transforming the organization and refocusing priorities on growth and innovation. This includes the redesign of Swisher’s corporate brand identity in conveying the company’s purpose, mission and vision to reflect its guiding principles and strategic goals.
Under Miller’s leadership, Swisher has doubled the size of its field sales force, tripled the size of its national accounts team and has recognized Swisher’s talented employees by awarding more than 175 promotions throughout the organization.
Miller has guided Swisher’s strategic vision as the company has worked to establish programs to adapt and innovate, meeting the needs of trade partners and its millions of adult consumers across the country. In support of the company evolution, Miller announced the creation of a chief growth officer function in late 2020 and expanded the innovation team to realize its diversification goals into new product categories and to accelerate expansion beyond its core tobacco portfolio.
March 2, 2021
Coesia Appoints New Chief Executive Officer

Coesia has appointed Alessandro Parimbelli as its new chief executive officer, the company announced in a statement.
Parimbelli comes from Jabil Circuit where he was executive vice president and chief executive officer of the company’s enterprise and infrastructure division.
The new CEO will continue the process of innovation and growth at Coesia, a group of 21 companies specialized in highly innovative industrial and packaging solutions based in Bologna, Italy. The group, whose sole shareholder and president is Isabella Seragnoli, is present in 35 countries with 84 production plants in 136 operating units and has more than 8,000 employees.
Coesia’s companies include prominent tobacco machinery suppliers such as G.D, Cerulean, Comas, Flexlink, Molins and Sasib.
February 24, 2021
Imperial Brands Names Chief Consumer Officer

Photo: Casimirokt – Dreamstime.com
Imperial Brands has appointed former PepsiCo and Fonterra executive Anindya Dasgupta as chief consumer officer effective May 1, 2021.
This is a role reporting to CEO Stefan Bomhard and created to reinforce the importance of consumer centricity to the company’s new strategy and five-year plan.
“Anindya has outstanding consumer, brand and innovation experience, having held senior roles in significant international companies such as PepsiCo, GlaxoSmithKline and Fonterra,” Bomhard said in a statement. “The consumer is at the core of our new strategy, and Anindya will ensure that we have the right marketing, brand and portfolio management capabilities to successfully deliver our five-year plan to transform Imperial.”
“Imperial is a company with great potential, and I am delighted to be joining at a time when Stefan and the team are implementing an exciting strategy that will rejuvenate the business and unlock value for our stakeholders,” said Dasgupta.
Dasgupta has held executive international marketing, brand and general management positions in multiple markets, including the U.S., India, Singapore, Thailand and the U.K. After working in various positions within the consumer goods division at GlaxoSmithKline, he joined PepsiCo where he held various roles, including senior director of the global beverages group. He then joined the world’s largest dairy exporter, Fonterra, where his roles included chief marketing officer and global head of consumer business.
February 24, 2021
RLX Hires Citigroup Dealmaker as CFO

Photo: RLX Technology
The China-based vapor company RLX Technology has hired Lu Chao as its chief financial officer, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Lu, a managing director and head of Asia healthcare investment banking at Citigroup, is expected to join the U.S.-listed e-cigarette maker as soon as March. Lu will help RLX Technology to identify expansion and investment opportunities in the healthcare industry that could apply its vaping technology, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous.
A Princeton University graduate, Lu joined Citigroup in December 2013, according to his LinkedIn profile.
RLX Technology, which is known for its RELX-branded devices, raised about $1.4 billion in an initial public offering in the U.S. earlier this year, according to Bloomberg. Lu was a lead banker on the deal, the source said, as Citigroup and China Renaissance Holdings arranged the offering.
Shares in RLX Technology have risen more than 75 percent since its January debut, giving the company a market value of about $32.7 billion.
February 23, 2021
Imperial to Cut CEO Compensation

Stefan Bomhard (Photo: Imperial Brands)
Imperial Brands is cutting CEO Stefan Bomhard’s performance-linked pay in response to shareholders’ concerns over his remuneration package, reports Reuters.
Bomhard and the remuneration committee have agreed that the value of his 2021 long-term incentive plan award will be cut to 315 percent from 350 percent of his salary.
Around 40 percent of shareholders voted against the directors’ remuneration proposal during Imperial Brand’s annual general meeting earlier this month.
The shareholder revolt over Bomhard’s salary came as it was “significantly larger” than his long-running female predecessor, reported The Times.
When Imperial Brands announced Bomhard’s appointment in February last year, it said he would receive an annual salary of about £1.3 million ($1.82 million) and a pension allowance equivalent to a maximum of 14 percent of salary and other usual benefits.
Since joining, the former Inchcape executive has promised to boost the company’s performance by bringing in new talent, changing incentive structures and sharpening focus on top markets.
In 2017, Imperial Brands shareholders balked a proposal to increase the salary of then-CEO Alison Cooper to almost £8.5 million annually from £5.5 million.
February 22, 2021
Zimbabwe Marketing Board Seeks New CEO

The TIMB headquarters in Harare (Photo: Taco Tuinstra)
Andrew Matibiri will step down as CEO of Zimbabwe’s Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) after his term ends in April, according to Newsday.
Andrew Matibiri
Matibiri has led the industry regulator for 15 years. Government regulations restrict a parastatal CEO’s term to 10 years, but the rule was not yet in effect when Matibiri took the helm.
The TIMB board has contracted Industrial Psychology Consultants (IPC) to search for the new CEO.
“Industrial Psychology Consultants (Pvt.) Ltd. has been contracted by the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board to assist with the recruitment and selection of a suitable candidate for the position of chief executive officer,” IPC said in a vacancy advert published in late 2020.
“The CEO is accountable for leading the business through the initiation and implementation of strategies to unlock its full potential through the effective utilization of the material, financial and human resources, and supervision of all operational units.”
According to TIMB data, 180.8 million kg valued at $452.3 million was delivered to the country’s contract and auction floors during the 2020 season. During the same period last year, 240 million kg valued $479 million went under the hammer.
February 19, 2021
Nveed Chaudhary Joins Broughton Nicotine Services

Nveed Chaudhary (Photo: BNS)
Broughton Nicotine Services has appointed Nveed Chaudhary as chief regulatory officer.
This appointment is the latest in a series of high-profile additions to the team at the contract research organization specializing in electronic nicotine-delivery systems (ENDS) as it embarks on its next phase of growth.
Having built a leading reputation for advancing a smoke-free future by helping ENDS companies bring noncombustible products to market, the business is now also moving into modern oral nicotine products, heated-tobacco products and cannabidiol products.
“We are absolutely delighted to have brought Nveed on board,” said Paul Moran, CEO of Broughton Nicotine Services. “He is one of a small number of experts in the industry to have developed scientific and regulatory strategies that have delivered the highly sought-after marketing order for both premarket tobacco product applications (PMTA) and modified-risk tobacco product (MRTP) applications. Nveed’s depth of knowledge and experience will further help Broughton’s clients shape the future of next-generation nicotine products.”
Previously head of harm reduction science at Imperial Brands and director of strategic communications at Philip Morris International, Chaudhary was a core team member of the successful IQOS PMTA and MRTP regulatory submissions and director for the Myblu PMTA submission program. He is a recognized expert in the nicotine sector, author of over 25 peer-reviewed publications and speaker at international lung disease and tobacco harm reduction conferences.
“My career goal has always been to reduce the burden that lung disease has on patients, society and public health,” said Chaudhary. “To combat the harm effects caused by smoking, it’s important to offer consumers high quality, rigorously tested and regulated noncombustible products.
“Broughton Nicotine Services acts as the bridge between the industry and global regulators. By applying experience and knowledge, we partner with manufacturers to help them secure marketing orders for safer next-generation products.
“It’s clear that the business shares my drive to accelerate the creation of a smoke-free future, and I’m excited to be part of the team.”
February 18, 2021