Category: People

  • Navaneel Kar to Lead IPM India

    Navaneel Kar to Lead IPM India

    Navaneel Kar (Photo: IPM India)

    Philip Morris International appointed Navaneel Kar as the managing director of its India operations, IPM India Wholesale Trading (IPM India). Prior to joining IPM India, Kar served as the president of sales at Tata Consumer Products. He will be reporting to Ankur Modi, cluster head of South Asia and Indochina for PMI.

    With over 25 years of experience, Kar has been associated with reputed brands like ITC and Tata Motors. He has successfully led teams and organizations across multiple categories and channels in the food, tobacco, personal care and beverage sectors.

    “I am pleased to welcome Navaneel Kar as IPM India’s managing director,” said Modi in a statement. “Navaneel has displayed leadership and strength in delivering exceptional results through his career. His entrepreneurship and learning mindset will be central to bring the next phase of growth for our India business.”

    Kar said, “I am excited to assume the new role at this interesting juncture and contribute to the company’s growth and overall success. I look forward to working with the team to deliver competitive performance along with building an inclusive, diverse and a progressive workplace.”

  • KT&G CEO Won’t Seek Reappointment

    KT&G CEO Won’t Seek Reappointment

    Baek Bok-in (Image: KT&G)

    KT&G’s governance committee on Jan. 11 finalized a longlist of CEO candidates, the company announced on its website. The list comprises 24 individuals including 14 external candidates and 10 internal candidates. The incumbent CEO, Baek Bok-in, has been excluded from the list as he has expressed his intention not to seek reappointment.

    For the external candidates, eight individuals who applied through open recruitment and six individuals recommended by search firms have all been included in the longlist. In addition, 10 internal candidates who have participated in the company’s senior management training program have also been included.

    The CEO appointment process is expected to take about three months. KT&G insists it will be conducted in a fair and transparent manner, following a three-step procedure involving the governance committee, the CEO candidate recommendation committee and approval at the general meeting of shareholders.

    Following the procedure, the governance committee plans to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the candidates who have been longlisted. The governance committee also intends to consider and weigh impartial and objective opinions from the advisory panel, composed of five external experts. The committee will finalize the first shortlist of CEO candidates by the end of this month and recommend it to the CEO candidate recommendation committee.

    Then, the CEO candidate recommendation committee will engage in a systematic and in-depth discussion regarding the candidates included in the first shortlist to form the second shortlist by mid-February. The second shortlist will be disclosed in a transparent manner upon its finalization.

    The final CEO candidate will be named by the end of February. The appointment will be subject to approval at the annual general meeting of shareholders in late March.

    The CEO candidate recommendation committee will be composed entirely of outside directors. Additionally, KT&G’s board of directors plans to propose an agenda item at the upcoming annual general meeting of shareholders to amend the articles of incorporation and make it obligatory to constitute the CEO candidate recommendation committee exclusively of outside directors, regardless of the incumbent CEO’s intentions regarding reappointment.

    Late last year, KT&G shareholder Flashlight Capital Partners urged the tobacco company to select its next CEO in a more transparent manner after expressing disappointment with the current CEO’s performance and identifying several shortcomings in the previous selection procedure.

  • RAI Names VP Strategy and Transformation

    RAI Names VP Strategy and Transformation

    Photo: RAI

    Reynolds American Inc. appointed Wade Huckabee to the role of senior vice president of strategy and transformation, the company announced on its website. In this role, Huckabee will be responsible for the development and realization of the U.S. strategy and serve on the Reynolds American Leadership Team, effective Jan. 1, 2024.

    Huckabee joined the Reynolds organization in April 2016 as vice president of strategy and planning, where he oversaw development of the function, including building stronger analytical capabilities and retail insights. He was named senior vice president of combustibles in December 2018 and in 2019 assumed the role of general manager of the Reynolds organization’s traditional categories.

    Huckabee was appointed global head of revenue growth in 2022, where he was responsible for accelerating the BAT Group’s sales and category objectives in priority markets around the world. In 2023, he became group head of customer and commercial, adding the development of global trade marketing to his accountabilities.

    Prior to joining the Reynolds organization, his extensive experience in other consumer goods categories included roles in strategy and investor relations at Hanesbrands and progressive leadership roles in finance, revenue and margin management, and strategic accounts at Keurig Dr Pepper.

    In his new role, Huckabee will lead and oversee Reynolds’ strategy, encompassing key pillars related to commercial, organizational and regulatory strategies. A native Texan, Huckabee has Bachelor of Arts degrees in history and English from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration degree in finance from Pepperdine University in Malibu, California.

  • Hopkins Promoted to CEO, President of Kaival

    Hopkins Promoted to CEO, President of Kaival

    Photo: Gajus

    A former Altria executive has been promoted to CEO and resident of Kaival Brands Innovations Group, Inc. The company announced that it has expanded the role of Executive Chairman Barry Hopkins to include the additional positions.

    Former CEO and president, Eric Mosser, has been appointed CEO and president of Kaival Brands International, a Kaival Brands Innovations Group’s subsidiary with an international licensing relationship with Philip Morris Products.

    Niraj Patel, founder and chief science officer of Kaival Brands, said that from the beginning he has envisioned a diverse platform that could “capture the tailwinds” generated by the company’s core offering, the BIDI Stick electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) product.

    “Barry understands this vision, the importance of regulatory compliance and youth access prevention, and has done an exceptional job since joining Kaival Brands. He has eagerly taken on increasing levels of responsibility, leveraging his decades of experience in management in our industry,” said Patel in a press release. “His appointment as Interim CEO and president was a natural progression, and we look forward to potentially expanding our excellent management team further during 2024 with a permanent CEO and/or president as our needs dictate.

    “Having Barry in this position now is particularly important since we are at a significant inflection point, as we remain hopeful that FDA will soon complete its review of the pending premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) for the tobacco-flavored BIDI Stick Classic. If we receive a marketing granted order for this product, we will have significant momentum in the new year with the ability to continue to transition adult cigarette smokers, drive revenue and grow our company.”

    According to a recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration announcement, the agency’s next status report regarding its review of the still-pending PMTAs for major brands and market share leading ENDS products is due to be filed by January 22, 2024 with the U.S. District Court in Maryland.

    Although FDA has not indicated publicly which PMTAs it is prioritizing for review, Kaival Brands is hopeful that the BIDI Stick Classic will be included in the January status report. The company also anticipates the PMTAs for the other 10 BIDI-branded SKUs will remain in scientific review, according to Patel.

    Recently, the Kaival Brands has been encouraged by the coordinated efforts of the FDA, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and other government agencies to increase their coordinated focus on enforcement. The company believes it has been hurt by illicit vaping products flooding the market, and it is now preparing to scale along with other legal products, assuming increased enforcement continues alongside the January announcement by the FDA.

    “Hopkins will spearhead the company under the direction of the Board of Directors with a continued focus on accelerating revenue growth, improving operational efficiencies and executing Kaival Brands’ strategic growth and diversification initiatives, while remaining in compliance with applicable state and federal regulations.

    “The company, alongside BIDI Vapor (the maker of the BIDI Stick), is also continuing to focus on working with Philip Morris to accelerate the international distribution of ENDS products using BIDI technology (which Philip Morris markets under the brand name ‘VEEV Now’), as part of Philip Morris’s plan to deliver a smoke-free future.”

  • KT&G Starts CEO Search

    KT&G Starts CEO Search

    Photo: Ink Drop

    KT&G Corp. has started the process for appointing its next CEO.

    To secure a wide array of qualified candidates, the external CEO candidate pool will be drawn from a combination of open recruitment and search firm recommendations. The internal CEO candidate pool will include individuals who have participated in KT&G’s senior management training program, as well as the incumbent CEO, Beak Bok-in. The governance committee will impartially assess both the external and internal pools to establish the longlist for CEO candidates.

    Then, the governance committee will institute an advisory panel comprised of external experts to bring an objective perspective into the process of selecting the shortlist for CEO candidates, thereby enhancing the impartiality of the process. KT&G plans to proactively identify and nurture both external and internal CEO candidates moving forward, under the guidance of the governance committee.

    The eligibility criteria for candidates participating in the open recruitment for the CEO position include individuals with experience in the tobacco or consumer goods industry (manufacturing or distribution business) as a representative director, or in the profit/loss management of a business unit equivalent to a company’s representative director.

    KT&G lists the following skill requirements:

    • in-depth understanding of the tobacco or consumer goods industry and management expertise, capability in driving new business initiatives and global expertise;
    • business intuition and strategic thinking skills responsive to environmental changes;
    • ability to communicate with and manage stakeholders;
    • universal morality and ethical awareness required of a CEO

    Candidate application for the open recruitment will be accepted through registered mail or e-mail by Jan. 10, 2024. Details regarding the application will be available on the KT&G website from Dec. 28, 2023.

    According to KT&G, the CEO appointment process will be conducted over approximately three months in a fair and transparent manner. The governance committee will finalize the shortlist for CEO candidates in late January by incorporating the impartial and objective opinions of the advisory panel composed of external experts, and recommend to the CEO candidate recommendation committee.

    After conducting a systematic and in-depth review of the shortlisted candidates, the CEO candidate recommendation committee will name the final CEO candidate and report to the board of directors in late February. The board of directors will then resolve the agenda for the annual general meeting of shareholders, and the CEO will be appointed following the approval at the annual general meeting of shareholders in late March.

    “We have been committed to improving our CEO appointment process, especially focusing on strengthening the transparency, impartiality and objectivity of the process,” said Lim Min-kyu, chairman of the KT&G board of directors.

    “Moving forward, we plan to conduct a comprehensive candidate selection process, taking into account the assessment and perspectives of the advisory panel comprised of external experts.”

    Earlier this month, KT&G shareholder Flashlight Capital Partners urged the tobacco company to select its next CEO in a more transparent manner, after expressing disappointment with the current CEO’s performance and identifying several shortcomings in the previous selection procedure.

    In a press note announcing the new CEO search, KT&G stressed that its governance committee is composed exclusively of outside directors. The Dec. 28 board of directors meeting, it added, was attended only by outside directors, “reinforcing the company’s commitment to ensuring independent decisionmaking of the board.”

  • Gilchrist to Lead PMI Global Communications

    Gilchrist to Lead PMI Global Communications

    Moira Gilchrist (Image: PMI)

    Philip Morris International has promoted Moira Gilchrist to chief communications officer, effective Jan. 1, 2024. In her new position, she will report to CEO Jacek Olczak.

    Also effective Jan. 1, 2024, Marian Salzman, currently senior vice president, global communications, will assume the position of senior vice president and chief corporate citizenship officer. After more than five years spent building the global communications function, Salzman will return to the U.S. to serve as a driving force in developing PMI’s business in the U.S. market.

    “Moira has been an essential part of my team for more than five years, and I am delighted that she will take over the reins of the global communication function as I shift my focus to the U.S. market,” said Salzman in a statement. “She has been instrumental in shaping the strategy of PMI’s global communications function as we evolve the business and advance our smoke-free mission. I’m excited to see all she will accomplish as she steps up to lead the function.”

    “Over the past 17 years, Moira has demonstrated an outstanding ability to build focused and high-performing teams, always seeking fresh perspectives and insights to drive a culture of curiosity and continuous improvement,” said Olczak. “Coupled with her superb communication skills, these attributes will serve the company well as we pursue our ambitious goal of being a substantially smoke-free company by 2030, with the aim of more than two-thirds of our total net revenues coming from smoke-free products.”

    “It is a privilege to have been selected to take the baton from Marian and lead our communications function globally,” said Gilchrist. “Marian has changed everything about how we communicate as a company, and she has had a tremendous influence on me and the extended team. We are a far stronger and more dynamic function today, and I am excited to build on her achievements to continue to move us forward.”

    Since joining PMI in 2006, Gilchrist has held several positions, including leading the reduced-risk products corporate affairs team, serving as director of scientific engagement within the R&D function, and working in both product development and commercialization.

    Prior to joining PMI, Gilchrist worked in the pharmaceutical sector for more than a decade. She was a principal consultant within PwC’s and IBM’s pharmaceutical industry consulting groups and held positions within both industry and nonprofit organizations as a developer of drug formulations. Gilchrist holds a degree in pharmacy and a doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences, both from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.

  • Colin Mendelsohn Announces Retirement

    Colin Mendelsohn Announces Retirement

    Colin Mendelsohn

    After nearly a decade advocating for vaping as a tobacco harm reduction strategy in Australia, Colin Mendelsohn announced his retirement in Filter.

    In his piece, Mendelsohn expressed distress at what he described as Australia’s “descent from its former status as a global leader in tobacco control to the current slow-moving train wreck.”

    “Where vaping is seen by other Western democracies as a huge opportunity for public health, successive Australian governments have framed it as a threat,” he wrote. “The ensuing prohibitive regulations have neutralized the potential benefits and led to troubling and escalating unintended consequences.”

    During his career, Mendelsohn endured heavy criticism from anti-vaping groups.  

    “My evidence-based advocacy and the efforts of others are undermined with smears, insults and harassment,” he wrote. “I have repeatedly faced false accusations of being funded by Big Tobacco, including in national print media and on national radio.”

    Despite his disappointment over Australia’s tobacco-control policy choices and the personal attacks, Mendelsohn, remained optimistic that tobacco harm reduction would eventually prevail.

    “As I retire, my hope, still, is for a balanced, evidence-based approach to vaping in Australia,” he wrote. “It won’t come soon. The latest regulatory crackdown will need to run its course and fail again before much-needed reforms are possible.

    “Then we will need to move beyond the echo chamber of Australia’s tobacco control group-think, if we’re to recognize vaping not as a ‘public health menace’ but as a powerful ally in the fight against tobacco-related harm.”

  • Hugh Cullman Dies at 100

    Hugh Cullman Dies at 100

    Photo: New Africa

    Hugh Cullman died at his home in Pittsboro, North Carolina, USA, on Nov. 4 at the age of 100, reports the Wall Street Journal.

    Cullman was among the last members of his family to hold a leading role in the cigarette business. Robert Proctor, Stanford University professor, called Cullman’s family “the most important tobacco family in American history.”

    Cullman worked at Philip Morris for more than 30 years, selling cigarettes and “the idea that you couldn’t prove that smoking was as bad as critics claimed,” according to WSJ.

    Cullman is survived by his daughter, Katherine Hedges, his son, Hugh Cullman Jr., his daughter, Alexandra Haslingden, his sister, Marguerite Cullman, his brother, Brian Cullman, nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

  • Serpil Timuray joins BAT board

    Serpil Timuray joins BAT board

    Image: BAT

    Serpil Timuray has joined the board of BAT as an independent nonexecutive director and as a member of the nominations and remuneration committees.

    Timuray is currently the CEO of Europe Cluster and a member of the executive committee at Vodafone Group. She joined Vodafone in 2009 and has held a variety of executive roles being the group chief commercial operations and strategy officer in charge of areas including global strategy, marketing, innovation and digital transformation, the regional CEO for Africa, Middle East, Asia, Pacific, and the CEO of Turkiye.

    Prior to joining Vodafone, Timuray was the CEO of Danone Dairy Turkiye, having started her career in 1991 at Procter and Gamble, where she held several marketing roles. Timuray is currently nonexecutive director of TPG Telecom. She previously served as an independent nonexecutive director of Danone Group from 2015 to 2023 and as the chair of the corporate social responsibility committee.

    “I am pleased to welcome Serpil Timuray to our board,” said BAT Chair Luc Jobin in a statement. “Her extensive experience in growing consumer and enterprise product companies in technology and fast-moving consumer goods sectors and in managing global strategy, innovation and digital transformation will be beneficial to the board as we continue to accelerate our strategy to build ‘A Better Tomorrow.’”

  • Borgia Walker to Direct HR at Reynolds

    Borgia Walker to Direct HR at Reynolds

    Photo: RAI

    Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) has appointed Borgia Walker to the role of senior vice president, human resources and inclusion. In this role, Walker will oversee RAI’s human resources strategy and operations and serve on the RAI leadership team, as well as BAT’s global human resources leadership team.

    “Our employees are key to driving our transformation, and no one is better fit to lead our people strategy than Borgia,” said RAI President and CEO David Waterfield in a statement. “She is a respected leader within Reynolds because of the tremendous impact she has made on our organization’s transformation towards building ‘A Better Tomorrow,’ and she also embodies the spirit of giving back to the community, which is core to who we are as an organization.”

    Walker joined Brown and Williamson (which merged its U.S. tobacco assets into RAI in 2004) in 1995 and held roles in finance, internal audit, and regulatory oversight before joining the HR function in 2015 as a business partner.

    Her career in HR includes serving as senior director – health and wellness, where she implemented a new health plan; vice president – organizational effectiveness and services, where she was responsible for the HR service team and payroll; and vice president – HR services and integration, where she expanded her responsibilities to lead the global integration of the U.S. HR framework.

    In her new role, she will lead and oversee talent acquisition, leadership development, diversity and inclusion, organizational design, and cultural development, as well as employee education and development, compensation and benefits.