Category: People

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.

Marti Nyman has joined NDC Technologies as president and strategic growth leader. Nyman succeeds Dave Roland, who has served as NDC’s president since 2016 and who contributed considerably to the advancement of the organization.

Previously, Nyman was vice president and chief growth officer for Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, responsible for the growth and successful delivery of high-impact innovative products and services for the Minnesota healthcare market.

Prior to Blue Cross and Blue Shield, he held executive management positions with UnitedHealth Group, Ulteig, Best Buy, ADC, Ericsson and GE. Nyman is also an instructor at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management, specializing in graduate studies in leadership, entrepreneurship and business formation.

“l am thrilled and humbled for the opportunity to lead the NDC team,” said Nyman. “We are in the enviable position of having an exceptional global team, a strong and diverse product portfolio, an immense installed base and a valuable and talented support organization.”

NDC Technologies is a global provider of productivity enhancing measurement and control solutions.

Alain Maingreaud has been re-elected as president of Tax-Free World Association (TFWA) for a further year following the association’s board and management committee meeting in Dublin on Dec. 6.

Maingreaud joined TFWA in 1995 as commercial director and was elected managing director in 2010, with responsibilities for the day-to-day management of the association and implementing its medium and long-term strategy.

He was elected president of TFWA in December 2018, succeeding Erik Juul-Mortensen who stepped down as President after a 19-year tenure.

TFWA is the largest association in international duty free and travel retail.

Alain Maingreaud has been re-elected as president of Tax-Free World Association (TFWA) for a further year following the association’s board and management committee meeting in Dublin on Dec. 6.

Maingreaud joined TFWA in 1995 as commercial director and was elected managing director in 2010, with responsibilities for the day-to-day management of the association and implementing its medium and long-term strategy.

He was elected president of TFWA in December 2018, succeeding Erik Juul-Mortensen who stepped down as President after a 19-year tenure.

TFWA is the largest association in international duty free and travel retail.

The U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday approved the nomination of Stephen Hahn to be head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), reports The Washington Post.

During his confirmation hearing, senators grilled Hahn about his position on e-cigarettes and the Trump administration’s apparent backtracking on earlier announced measures to ban flavored products.

Hahn said he was alarmed by 2019 data showing that almost 28 percent of high schoolers have vaped in the past 30 days but said he didn’t want to prejudge the administration’s e-cigarette policy because he hasn’t been involved in developing it. He vowed to use “science and data” to address that issue and others.

In September, the Trump administration announced it would clear the market of flavored e-cigarettes, but the president has yet to act, citing concern about black market sales.

Vapor advocates have protested that a flavor ban would cause job losses and drive vapers to cigarettes while conservative pressure groups warned that the measure would erode support for Trump’s reelection.

Vapor activists have also argued that a flavor ban would hurt adults using e-cigarettes to quit smoking and that youth use should be reduced in other ways, such as by restricting where the products are sold.

If approved by the Senate, Hahn, a top official at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, will be the fourth head of the FDA in less than a year.

Marshall B. Bass, a retired senior vice president at RJR Nabisco, died Nov. 26 after a long illness at his home in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA, reports The Winston-Salem Journal. He was 93.

After joining R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in 1968, Bass rose through the management ranks and became the first black person elected as an executive in what was then R.J. Reynolds Industries Inc.

Bass retired as senior vice president for global public relations for the company, which was then known as RJR Nabisco Inc.

LLFlex has added three senior-level business development executives to its staff.

Jonathan Laverick has joined LLFlex as director of business development, EMEA. In this position, Laverick is responsible for identifying and securing new business opportunities and working with existing customers and representatives in Europe across LLFlex’s core marketplaces.

Prior to joining LLFlex, Laverick spent six years as commercial director, Europe, for Sharp Packaging Solutions. Previously he worked for Alcoa/Reynolds Packaging and Alcan Packaging.

Christine Shirreffs has been named director of business development, Americas. Shirreffs will help expand LLFlex’s market share in the tobacco, healthcare and other consumer markets as part of its packaging segment. Most recently, Shirreffs spent 6.5 years as a sales representative in Printpack’s flexible packaging sector.

LLFlex has hired Christine Lovett as a business development manager for the company’s wire and cable solutions, part of its industrial laminates segment. Prior to joining LLFlex, Lovett spent more than a decade as an account manager for Sonoco Products and several years at Zumbach Electronics.

LLFlex is a leader in packaging materials and industrial laminate solutions for various industries. The company is North America’s largest supplier of cigarette inner bundling material, as well as custom-printed laminations for cigar, pipe and smokeless tobacco.

The company has operations in Kentucky and North Carolina.

Turning Point Brands has promoted Graham A. Purdy to chief operating officer.

Since joining the company in 2004, Purdy has held a range of leadership positions. Among other accomplishments, he built and ran the company’s sales organization, launched the Nu-X new product development engine and led transaction teams for many of the company’s strategic initiatives.

In his new role as chief operating officer, Purdy will oversee the day-to-day operations of the business.

“I have worked with Graham for the past 15 years. He has great intuition for the consumer, anticipates new market trends and builds strong internal processes to capitalize on those growth opportunities,” said Larry Wexler, president and chief executive of Turning Point Brands.

“I am eager and excited to help build upon the company’s legacy of success,” said Purdy. “Moving forward, we intend to accelerate the momentum behind our Stoker’s MST brand, broaden the iconic ZIG-ZAG portfolio and provide adult consumers with a broad range of exciting new products in the burgeoning actives market.”