Category: People

Jeroen Slobbe will leave Tembo as director and board member at the end of this month. Slobbe was with the company for 24 years.

“The last two decades we have been able to transform ourselves from a trade and revision company into an innovative high-tech partner for the tobacco industry and other industries. Jeroen has played a major role in this transformation,” says Arend van der Sluis, chairman of Tembo.

“Jeroen is a well-known personality in the tobacco industry; especially in the OTP segment, where our company TDC became a respected OEM of pouch packing machines. Under his leadership and with the introduction of next-generation products like vaping, TDC has played a pioneering role in the development of automated production platforms.

“We will miss him as a colleague, but our friendship will remain.”

Headquartered in Kampen, Netherlands, the Tembo group includes ITM, SCM/TDC, GTS/SCM, PMP Dominicana, Tembo Paper, PMP Poland, Imatec, SPI Developments, TAM, Gemba Solutions, Tricas, EME Engel, RNT Machinery, GreenProducts, De Olifant and De Eenhoorn.

Philip Morris Malaysia has appointed Naeem Khan as its managing director, reports The New Straits Times.

Khan is the co-founder and chief operating officer of EZbuy Holding in Pakistan, an international online shopping platform. Previously he was chairman and CEO of Phillips Group of Companies in Malaysia in 2011 and vice president of consumer lighting for emerging markets based out of China.

“Naeem is a genuine leader who has a strong organizational focus on developing people,” said Paul Riley, Philip Morris president for East Asia and Australia region. “He was recognized in accelerating revenue growth in commercial and healthcare environments through product marketing, innovation, as well as consumer experience.”

“The tobacco industry is evolving rapidly; new and robust innovations that build on harm reduction will help the world achieve smoke-free future in a faster pace,” said Khan.

“I am extremely excited and proud to be part of this historical journey with Philip Morris in their on-going drive towards a smoke-free world for the future generations.”

22nd Century Group has appointed Nora Sullivan as chairman of its board of directors. Roger O’Brien has joined the board to fill the vacancy resulting from the death of Joseph Dunn.

Sullivan has served as a director of 22nd Century Group since May 2015. Sullivan is also currently president of Sullivan Capital Partners, a financial services company providing investment banking and consulting services to businesses seeking growth through acquisitions, strategic partnerships and joint venture relationships.

Her experience includes the development and advancement of strategic initiatives and the implementation of best practice governance policies.

O’Brien has served since 2000 as the president of O’Brien Associates, a general management consulting firm. From 1998 to 1999, O’Brien served as the chief operating officer of Ultralife Batteries, and from 1991 to 1996, he was the chief executive officer and a major shareholder of Holotek.

“We welcome Roger to 22nd Century’s board of directors and congratulate Nora on her appointment as chairman,” said Michael Zercher, president and chief operating officer of 22nd Century Group.

“Roger’s extensive experience in strategy and management consulting and Nora’s deep experience in capital markets, private equity and matters of public company governance, including as a long-time member of 22nd Century’s board, will be of tremendous value to the company as we pursue our two strategic growth objectives in tobacco harm reduction and the emerging hemp/cannabis space.”

The International Hologram Manufacturers Association (IHMA) has announced a new executive board.

Rajan Thomas has been elected to oversee operations across Asia. Anton Goncharsky and Manoj Kochar are elected with responsibility for the Eastern Europe/FSA/CIS region and the Authentication Solution Providers’ Association in India, respectively.

Joanne Ogden will continue to represent the EU and EFTA region, while Brad Hilbert and SeungHyun Lee remain on the board with Alessio Pastorelli and Corinne Murcia Giudicelli.

Led by Chairman Paul Dunn, the board will direct the IHMA’s work to advance holography as global threats continue to push demand for authentication and brand protection devices such as holograms.

The IHMA plans to expand the scope of current operations, embracing the widest range of commercial holographic activity.

“Innovation is pushing the boundaries of what holographic technology can achieve, reflecting that there is plenty of mileage in holography,” said Dunn.

“I’m very much looking forward to the challenge of taking the IHMA forward and working with members and organizations to ensure it remains a strong advocate and resource for the industry in the future.”

Juul Labs has named Chief Financial Officer Guy Cartwright as its chief transformation officer, reports Reuters.

According to a spokesman, Cartwright will continue to focus on a restructuring at the company, which includes reducing operating expenses by $1 billion and aligning the budget to key priorities.

The company has appointed Chief Accounting Officer Saurabh Sinha as its interim chief financial officer.

In her new role, Birch will identify and commercialize business opportunities in key packaging markets, including convenience, protein and snack foods, confectionery and tobacco.

“At Parkside, we pride ourselves on being innovation leaders in the print and packaging sectors, and I am delighted to take up this new role in a fascinating period of global growth for the company,” said Birch.

Parkside has repositioned itself in recent years, moving the company into the food packaging sector and further bolstering its Asian tobacco packaging business. The announcement of the global sales director role reflects the geographical expansion of the business and the importance of the European and Asian markets to the company.

“We are delighted to see Paula progress into her new role,” said Robert Adamson, managing director of Parkside. “Her extensive experience is invaluable in supporting the company’s growth and innovation strategy as we head into 2020.”

Previously, Birch was the European sales director.

John Perry has joined NDC Technologies as vice president of sales and marketing. In his role, Perry will be responsible for leading NDC’s global sales organization, executing the company’s go-to-market strategy and accelerating pipeline growth across the company’s key vertical markets.

“John brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to our executive leadership team and we are looking forward to him playing a key role in driving our marketing and sales growth activities,” said Marti Nyman, president of NDC Technologies.

“I am honored to join the NDC team and help to build on a solid foundation developed over the years,” said Perry. “This is an exciting and outstanding opportunity to play an important role in accelerating the company’s growth and further deepening our customer relationships and worldwide market position.”

Perry takes from Randy Luffman, who joined NDC in 2012 and is retiring from the company.

22nd Century Group is searching for its third chief executive in less than five months after Clifford Fleet announced Friday he was stepping down.

Fleet has been named as president and chief executive of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, effective Jan. 1. He will remain on 22nd Century’s board of directors and serve on an executive committee that will choose his successor.

22nd Century also announced the appointment of Michael Zercher as its president. Previously, Zercher was chief operating officer.

Fleet took over as chief executive Aug. 3. He served as Philip Morris USA’s chief executive and president from November 2013 to May 2017.

Henry Sicignano III resigned unexpectedly as chief executive on July 26 for what the company described as personal reasons. He had been the chief executive since March 2015 and president since January 2011.

22nd Century develops very low nicotine cigarettes and could play a prominent role in the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) quest to drastically cut nicotine levels in traditional cigarettes.

On July 19, the FDA said it had begun the process of reviewing two modified-risk tobacco product applications from 22nd Century.

Approval of the very-low-nicotine cigarettes could lead to a sharp increase in revenue for 22nd Century and a potential buyout by a global tobacco company.