U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has chosen David Kessler, the ex-head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), for a senior role in the new administration’s efforts to boost the availability of Covid-19 vaccines, reports Reuters.
A pediatrician and lawyer who headed the FDA under presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Kessler will be chief science officer of the administration’s Covid-19 response.
In the tobacco industry, Kessler is best known for his efforts to assert FDA authority over tobacco.
During his tenure, the FDA attempted to regulate tobacco products as “delivery devices for the drug nicotine” to bring tobacco products under FDA jurisdiction. Tobacco companies challenged the rules all the way to the Supreme Court and won (FDA v. Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corp.).
The Supreme Court ruled that “Congress has clearly precluded the FDA from asserting jurisdiction to regulate tobacco products.”
Kessler’s wish to see tobacco regulated by the FDA was eventually granted by Congress in June 2009 through the bipartisan passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
Kessler is not the first tobacco foe to join the Biden administration’s Covid-19 response team. In December, Biden appointed Bechara Choucair—a board member at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids—as vaccinations coordinator.
Biden has vowed to get 100 million Covid-19 vaccine doses injected into Americans in his first 100 days in office.
The Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade Association (SFATA) has announced the results of its recent board elections. In a press release, the vapor industry organization said Robert Arnold (Saffire Vapor) will return as board treasurer. Also returning are board president and CEO April L. Meyers (Northeast Vapor Supplies), board vice president Dave Morris (Vape Gravy) and acting board secretary Lindsey Stroud (Taxpayers Protection Alliance).
New to the board this year are Taylor Cage (Trace/Verify) and Shaun Casey (FlavourArt).
“Our board of directors is comprised of a diverse team of leaders committed to providing strength, longevity and stability to the vapor business community,” said Meyers. “We are excited to channel Taylor and Shaun’s skills, expertise and energy into furthering SFATA’s mission. We are delighted they are participating at SFATA’s board level.”
Cage and Casey join SFATA as the association prepares to roll-out the trace/verify segment of its Responsible Industry Network (RIN) program. The program’s goals are keeping its member businesses viable and flavored vapor products in the hands of adult consumers, according to the release.
The 2021 SFATA board will work alongside Executive Director Mark Anton. The board will decide on the association’s annual budget and select its officers during a two-day meeting before March.
Vector Group has appointed its current Executive Vice President Richard J. Lampen to the additional position of chief operating officer (COO) and to serve as a member of the board of directors, effective immediately.
“On behalf of the board and management team, we are pleased to announce Dick’s new roles at Vector Group,” said Howard M. Lorber, president and chief executive officer of Vector Group, in a statement. “With his broad executive experience and deep operational understanding of the company, having served in a variety of senior leadership roles for Vector Group and its affiliates for more than 25 years, Dick is a valuable addition to our board and a natural fit to be COO.”
“I am honored and delighted to work alongside Howard and the rest of our very talented team as we continue serving our dedicated employees, partners and investors,” said Lampen. “I look forward to advancing Vector Group’s goals on behalf of all of our stakeholders.”
Lampen served as president and chief executive officer of Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services from September 2006 to February 2020, and as chairman from September 2018 until February 2020, when the company was successfully sold for $1.3 billion to Advisor Group, a portfolio company of Reverence Capital Partners. From October 2008 until October 2019, Lampen served as president and chief executive officer and was a member of the board of directors of Castle Brands prior to its acquisition by Pernod Ricard. Vector Group held an approximate 10 percent interest in Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services and an approximate 8 percent equity interest in Castle Brands.
Before joining Vector Group in 1995, Lampen was a managing director at Salomon Brothers and a partner at law firm Steel Hector & Davis in Miami, Florida. Lampen received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University and a Juris Doctorate from Columbia Law School.
Keller and Heckman has announced two new partners, Kathryn Skaggs and Natalie Rainer.
Kathryn Skaggs
Skaggs is a resident in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office and practices food and drug law. She counsels clients on the regulation of food contact materials in a host of jurisdictions throughout North America, Europe, South America and Asia. Skaggs assists companies in bringing to market new food contact substances through submissions to government agencies in the U.S. and abroad.
She manages post-market issues for food contact substances, such as accidental adulterations, and advises on compliance with state laws including California’s Proposition 65. In addition to her extensive experience with food contact regulatory matters, Skaggs is an active member of the firm’s tobacco and e-vapor practice. She helps companies in the tobacco and e-vapor industries comply with the U.S. Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
Natalie Rainer
Rainer is a resident in the firm’s San Francisco, California, office and practices food and drug law, advising clients on regulatory requirements for foods, dietary supplements, cosmetics, and food and drug packaging in jurisdictions around the world, including North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Philip Morris International (PMI) has appointed Jorge Insuasty to the position of chief life sciences officer, effective Jan. 15, 2021. Insuasty will report to the company’s CEO, André Calantzopoulos.
“Jorge’s wealth of experience across both the pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare industries makes him the ideal candidate to succeed John O’Mullane, who is retiring,” said Calantzopoulos in a statement. “Jorge is a transformational leader in science and medicine and excels in driving product portfolio development through to market success. Science and a consumer-focused product portfolio are the cornerstones of our ambition to replace cigarettes with products that are a better choice than continued smoking. Jorge’s impressive track record will help ensure we reach our goals and take full advantage of adjacent revenue-generating opportunities.”
Insuasty joins PMI from Sanofi, where most recently he was the global franchise head of immunology, oncology, and neurology for Sanofi Genzyme. During his nine-year tenure at Sanofi he led the company’s product pipeline strategy, from candidate selection through the development and regulatory review processes, with a dozen novel drugs approved. He orchestrated significant transformational change within the R&D and commercial functions to substantially increase speed and efficiency, fostered external collaboration and innovation, and was highly engaged with the investor community. Overall, he played a pivotal role in the turnaround of Sanofi’s R&D efforts.
Prior to Sanofi, Insuasty spent eight years at Novartis International as global head of development, neuroscience, and ophthalmology. Before that, he was vice president, research and development, consumer medicines at Bristol Myers Squibb. Insuasty holds an MD in cardiology from the University of Paris.
“I am very excited to join PMI,” said Insuasty. “The company’s transformation, and smoke-free vision represent a tremendous public health opportunity and a business challenge, both of which I will be thrilled to contribute toward. And I also look forward to developing adjacent future growth drivers.”
This appointment follows the recent announcement that John O’Mullane, PMI’s current chief life sciences officer, will retire.
“We thank John for the enormous contributions he has made these last two years, driving innovation and rigor into our life sciences function, and we wish him well in his retirement,” added Calantzopoulos.
Swisher has named Jeff Rossi as senior vice president, sales and marketing. In his new role, Rossi will oversee both sales and marketing functions, including the trade marketing group, focusing on driving success and collaboration. Previously, Rossi was vice president, trade marketing and category development.
“Jeff has demonstrated exceptional work in every position he has held at Swisher,” said John Haley, Swisher’s chief growth officer, in a statement. “His leadership and business acumen will continue to drive success and synergies within the three groups.” Reporting to Jeff will be Dean Simmons, vice president field sales, Dave Untiedt, vice president consumer marketing and Andrew Swartz, senior director trade marketing.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, Swisher announced an expansion of the company’s vision, offerings and focus on adult consumer lifestyles. As part of the strategic focus, Swisher’s five strategic businesses—Swisher Sweets Cigar Company (large & little/filtered cigars); Fat Lip Brands (smokeless); Drew Estate (premium cigars); Hempire (hemp products); and Rogue Holdings (modern oral nicotine)—provide category expertise, product knowledge and a focused approach under a renewed purpose for the company.
The new corporate growth department will also include a renewed focus on servicing the needs of Swisher’s trade partners with better market and in-store data insights, including packaging and merchandising solutions.
“As we begin our 160th year in business, I’m excited to take on this new role and lead Swisher sales and marketing into a new era focused on our five strategic growth categories and continue to drive the implementation of our purpose, mission and vision,” said Rossi.
President-Elect Biden has appointed Bechara Choucair as vaccinations coordinator of the White House Covid-19 response team.
Choucair is senior vice president and chief health officer for Kaiser Permanente and a board member of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids (CTFK). Previously, he served as Chicago’s public health commissioner.
Choucair will step down from his board position at CTFK as he assumes his new position.
“In appointing Dr. Choucair as vaccinations coordinator, President-Elect Biden has chosen an extraordinarily experienced and capable public health and medical leader,” said Matthew L. Myers, president of the CTFK, in a statement. “We congratulate Dr. Choucair and look forward to working with him in the future.”
Swisher has named John Haley chief growth officer, overseeing the company’s newly formed corporate growth department. In this new role, Haley will focus on growth, innovation, strategy and structure of Swisher to enable organizational transformation to drive change throughout the company. He will oversee sales and marketing, strategic growth, innovation, and business analytics.
“I am pleased and excited to take on this new role and effect meaningful change and usher Swisher into a period of accelerated growth and innovation, said John Haley, Swisher’s Chief Growth Officer. “The formation of the Corporate Growth Department will guide our future plans and growth goals and position us strongly for shared success with our trade partners.”
Earlier this year, Swisher announced an expansion of the company’s vision, offerings and focus on adult consumer lifestyles. As part of the strategic focus, Swisher’s five strategic businesses—Swisher Sweets Cigar Co. (large & little/filtered cigars), Fat Lip Brands (smokeless), Drew Estate (premium cigars), Hempire (hemp products) and Rogue Holdings (modern oral nicotine)—provide category expertise, product knowledge and a focused approach under a renewed purpose for the company.
John Miller
The new corporate growth department will also include a renewed focus on servicing the needs of Swisher’s trade partners with better market and in-store data insights, including packaging and merchandising solutions.
“These are exciting times for Swisher and since the beginning of 2020, our new path forward has been guided by our strategic goals, guiding principles and our purpose, mission, vision, said John Miller, Swisher’s President. “Under the leadership of John Haley and the corporate growth department, the team will support the work that has started to transform our business, reimagine how we work, and accelerate the expansion and growth of our company.”
Louis Camilleri has retired as chairman of the board of Philip Morris International (PMI) for personal reasons. PMI has appointed its CEO, André Calantzopoulos, as executive chairman, to take effect immediately prior to the company’s annual meeting of shareholders in May 2021.
Lucio Noto, PMI’s independent presiding director, will serve as interim chairman until the succession of Calantzopoulos in May. PMI’s current chief operating officer, Jacek Olczak, will succeed Calantzopoulos as chief executive officer immediately after the May meeting. It is anticipated that Olczak will also be nominated for election to the board of directors at the meeting. Olczak has served as PMI’s chief operating officer since January 2018 and served as chief financial officer from August 2012 through December 2018.
According to PMI, the planned succession promises a seamless transition and continuity of leadership. Camilleri, Calantzopoulos and Olczak have worked closely together since PMI became an independent company. They share a single strategic vision, and under their combined leadership, PMI has marked significant achievements, including its business transformation and indisputable leadership in the smoke-free product category.
Andre Calantzopoulos
“I am delighted to hand over the chairman of the board role to André following his decision to relinquish his CEO responsibilities,” Camilleri said in a statement. “I am equally delighted to see Jacek named to the helm of the company as of May 2021. He is a worthy successor to André, given his track record with PMI and his leadership qualities. Contemplating my 40-year PMI career, it has been an enormous privilege to serve this wonderful company, its board, its employees, and its shareholders. I want to wholeheartedly thank you all for this amazing journey that has made PMI the leading and most progressive tobacco company in the world. I am stepping down with the firm belief that the company is in great hands to accomplish its smoke-free vision.”
Lucio Noto
“The decisions announced today are the result of a rigorous and well-executed multi-year succession plan and are a clear demonstration of how well our company is governed,” said Noto, speaking on behalf of the board of directors. “The board is assured that under Jacek’s and André’s leadership and guidance, PMI will continue to innovate, prosper, and enhance shareholder value. I know I speak for all of us in expressing my profound gratitude to Louis for his enormous dedication and his tremendous contributions to our company throughout his stellar career. The members of the board will all miss him dearly.”
“It is an honor to follow in the footsteps of our chairman and former CEO, Louis Camilleri,” said Calantzopoulos. “On behalf of the PMI leadership, I would like to express our profound appreciation for his amazing contributions to the success of our company and for his leadership, guidance, devotion, and, above all, humanity. Beyond the unrivaled executive, we will all miss an outstanding person and a friend.”
Calantzopoulos continued: “During my seven years as CEO, we have positioned PMI for the future and created better, science-based options for those adults who would otherwise continue to smoke. We have the world’s leading product portfolio in both combustible and smoke-free products, an outstanding management team, and a high-performing, fast-learning organization across the world. We are perfectly poised for continued success. I am very pleased to hand over the CEO responsibility to Jacek. Having worked closely with Jacek for decades, I know well that his passion for the company and our employees, drive for results, and deep knowledge of our products, systems, values, and investors make him the ideal leader to ensure the continued growth of our business and to deliver shareholder value.
“I want to express my gratitude to our board, senior executives, employees, business partners, and shareholders for their support throughout my executive career. You have been an invaluable source of inspiration and strength, and I feel honored that I had the opportunity to work alongside all of you.”
Jacek Olczak
“I am humbled to have the opportunity to lead PMI,” said Olczak. “Working alongside André on PMI’s transformation, we have built the capabilities to continue delivering the unsmoke vision and beyond. I am committed to continuing to work with André in his new role and with the entire team at PMI to deliver on the enormous business opportunity of a smoke-free future, to the benefit of our consumers, shareholders, and society.”
Olczak, 55 joined the company in 1993 and worked in finance and general management positions across Europe, including as managing director of PMI’s markets in Poland and Germany and as president of the European Union Region before his appointment as chief financial officer of PMI in 2012. He holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Lodz, Poland.
The board of directors has also nominated a new director, Michel Combes, effective immediately.
A French businessman, Combes is president of SoftBank Group International and oversees several Softbank portfolio companies. He was chief financial officer and then CEO and a member of the board of directors of Sprint, CEO of Vodafone Europe, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent, CEO and chief operating officer of Altice, and chairman and CEO of SFR Group. Prior, he held several positions within French ministries, at France Telecom, and at Télédiffusion de France.
Xavier Becerra (Photo: State of California Department of Justice)
U.S. President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has selected Xavier Becerra, the Democratic attorney general of California, as his nominee for secretary of health and human services, reports The New York Times.
As attorney general in California, Becerra has been at the forefront of legal efforts on health care, leading 20 states and the District of Columbia in a campaign to protect the Affordable Care Act from being dismantled by his Republican counterparts. He has also been vocal in the Democratic Party about fighting for women’s health.
In a tweet, Derek Yach, president of the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World, described the choice as a “serious missed opportunity.”
“At a time of public health crisis deep expertise in public health, medicine and science should matter,” Yacht wrote. “Sadly, this is not apparent in the pick of the lead cabinet health voice.”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates the tobacco industry in the United States, is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. It is currently led by Alex Azar.
Earlier, Biden named former FDA Commissioner David Kessler to his Covid-19 advisory board. A pediatrician, lawyer and author, Kessler led the FDA from 1990 to 1997. During his tenure, he tried but failed to bring cigarettes under the agency’s jurisdiction. The industry, which opposed regulation at the time, successfully challenged the FDA in court (FDA v. Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp.). The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the FDA did not have the power to enact and enforce the regulations in question.
Kessler’s wish to see tobacco regulated by the FDA was eventually granted by Congress in June 2009 through the passage of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
