Tag: Reynolds American Inc.

Reynolds Settles Vuse Patent Suit Before Trial

Photo: RAI
R.J. Reynolds (RJR) has settled Fuma International’s claims that Reynold’s Vuse products infringed on the manufacturer’s e-cigarette patents, reports Reuters. RJR settled the suit just four days before the trial was slated to begin, according to a Thursday filing in North Carolina federal court.
U.S. District Judge Catherine Eagles found in May that RJR’s products infringed parts of two Fuma patents. A jury in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA, was set to consider on Nov. 15 whether RJR infringed additional parts of one of the patents, whether the patents were valid, and what damages RJR owed, among other things.
Fuma sued in 2019 for infringing patents related to an e-cigarette design with a cartridge and power source. The complaint said RJR copied Fuma’s design after meeting with Fuma about its e-cigarette technology in 2010.
Fuma asked for up to $135 million in damages, according to court filings.
Vuse is one of the most popular e-cigarette brands in the U.S. RJR introduced the Vuse Solo in 2013 and the Vuse Ciro in 2017. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave RJR permission to market Solo in October, its first-ever authorization for a vaping product.
The tobacco giant argued the relevant parts of the patents were invalid based on prior art that disclosed the same design, according to Reuters. Details of the settlement weren’t immediately available.
November 14, 2021
Aaron Gwinner Named CIO of the Year
Aaron Gwinner
Aaron Gwinner, senior vice president of digital business solutions and the chief information officer (CIO) for the Reynolds American Inc. group of companies, was selected as the winner of the CharlotteCIO of the Year ORBIE Award within the Large Enterprise category.
The ORBIE Awards, presented by CharlotteCIO, recognize chief information officers who have demonstrated excellence in innovation, technology leadership, business value creation and community involvement.
“Aaron continues to consistently provide exceptional leadership and outcomes that are accelerating the digital transformation of our business,” said Guy Meldrum, CEO at Reynolds, in a statement. “All of us at Reynolds congratulate him on this well-deserved achievement.”
“I am honored to be chosen as a CharlotteCIO of the Year and grateful for the team that has made this achievement possible,” Gwinner said. “The acceleration of our digital transformation and ability to leverage technology to drive our business is a direct reflection of the amazing people in our teams and the support of our executive leadership. Thank you, CharlotteCIO, for this incredible recognition.”
Gwinner was recognized among 23 finalists representing leading technology professionals in the Charlotte, North Carolina, region. Finalists and winners are selected through an independent peer-review process led by prior award recipients.
September 16, 2021
Fortune: Reynolds Among Best Workplaces
Photo: RAI
Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) has been named one of Fortune magazine’s Best Workplaces for Manufacturing and Production.
The Best Workplaces in Manufacturing and Production is highly competitive. Great Place to Work, the global authority on workplace culture, selected the list using rigorous analytics and confidential employee feedback.
“This recognition is a testament to our employees, who are at the forefront of rapid transformation in our industry,” said Guy Meldrum, Reynolds president and CEO, in a statement. “We are committed to being an organization where everyone feels accepted, empowered and valued. We are proud our people continue to have a positive experience here at Reynolds.”
By 2025, Reynolds aims to reach gender parity in management roles and to significantly increase minority representation in management and senior management roles. The company continues to implement progressive policies and programs with a sharpened focus on diversity and inclusion. The company offers first-in-class benefits, including:
A comprehensive parental leave policy with 16 weeks of paid leave for new parents
Dynamic employee resource groups comprising individuals with common interests or backgrounds and their allies
Tuition reimbursement and best-in-class recognition programs
Company-wide diversity and inclusion trainings and programs
Enhanced employee wellness resources and learning and development support during the Covid-19 pandemic
“As leaders, we need to listen to our people—hear their different perspectives and reactions to what is going on within our companies and build upon their ideas,” said Anna Dolgikh, Reynolds’ senior vice president of human resources. “We invite all current and prospective employees to bring their difference and be the change.”
Reynolds has a record of receiving accolades for its employment practices and taking actions that make it a good place to work. The organization scored 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2021 Corporate Equality Index for the second year in a row, designating the company as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality. Reynolds was also recently named a DiversityInc top regional company, and for two years in a row has participated in CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion.
September 13, 2021
Reynolds Recognized on Corporate Equality Index

Photo: RAI
For the second consecutive year, the BAT Group’s U.S. subsidiary Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) and its operating companies scored 100 percent on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2021 Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a prominent benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality.
Guy Meldrum
“Across every aspect of our business, we boldly embrace diversity as a key pillar of our ethos,” Our organization is rich with talent, and everyone is encouraged to be their authentic selves as we work to build ‘A Better Tomorrow,’” said Guy Meldrum, RAI president and CEO, in a statement.
Companies rated in the CEI include Fortune magazine’s 500 largest publicly traded businesses, American Lawyer magazine’s top 200 revenue-grossing law firms, and hundreds of publicly and privately held mid-sized to large-sized businesses.
The CEI rates companies on detailed criteria falling under four central pillars: non-discrimination policies across business entities; equitable benefits for LGBTQ workers and their families; supporting an inclusive culture; and corporate social responsibility.
“From the previously unimaginable impact of the Covid-19 pandemic to a long overdue reckoning with racial injustice, 2020 was an unprecedented year. Yet, many businesses across the nation stepped up and continued to prioritize and champion LGBTQ equality,” said Alphonso David, Human Rights Campaign president.
“This year has shown us that tools like the CEI are crucial in the work to increase equity and inclusion in the workplace, but also that companies must breathe life into these policies and practices in real and tangible ways.”
February 1, 2021
Modern Oral Less Toxic Than Other Products

Emma Cheung (Photo: BAT)
British American Tobacco (BAT) has published a new study in Food and Chemical Toxicology showing that modern oral products (MOPs) elicit lower toxicity responses than traditional tobacco products.

Velo, one of BAT’s nicotine pouch products, was compared with a traditional cigarette as well as a Swedish-style snus pouch and found to be “less biologically active than cigarette smoke and snus, even at greater concentrations of nicotine, across a range of tests,” according to a company press release. “In many cases, Velo failed to elicit a biological response at all, supporting the view that MOPs are likely to be less risky than traditional cigarettes and Swedish-style snus for users who switch completely.”

“Velo was found to be less biologically active than cigarette smoke in certain assays, which is very encouraging,” said Emma Cheung, a preclinical scientist at BAT, in a statement. “This study helps to support the reduced-risk potential of MOPs. Our scientists will continue to build evidence to support our new category products.”
September 30, 2020
RAI Recognized as ‘Great Place to Work’
Photo: RAI
For the fourth consecutive year, Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) has been certified as a “great place to work” and has again been named by Fortune as one of its 2020 Best Workplaces.
With more than 85 percent of employees stating that the company is a great place to work, these honors underscore Reynolds’ ongoing dedication to creating A Better Tomorrow by actively promoting and fostering an inclusive and positive work culture that supports the company’s success, according to the company.
Guy Meldrum
“We are extremely proud that our employees continue to have a positive and high-trust experience here at Reynolds, enabling us to once again be certified as a great place to work. We always strive to make our organization a place where all our employees thrive and always feel accepted, appreciated and valued,” said Guy Meldrum, president and CEO of RAI in a statement. “Our steadfast commitment to continuous learning and development, and also to living by our ethos and our diversity and inclusion principles, enables us to innovate, transform and drive better business results.”
RAI says attracting and retaining top talent is one of the key drivers of the transformation taking place at the firm. The company continues to implement progressive policies and programs, and offers first-in-class benefits, including:
A comprehensive parental leave policy with 16 weeks of paid leave for new parents
Employee resource groups comprising individuals with common interests or backgrounds and their allies
The Women of Transformation initiative, a corporate effort to highlight and celebrate innovative female leadership
On-site health clinics and cafeterias
Tuition reimbursement programs and company-wide bonus plans
Enhanced policies, programs and benefits aimed at optimizing employee safety and health, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic
“Recruiting and developing a talented, high-performing workforce is our top priority,” said Anna Dolgikh, Reynolds’ senior vice president, human resources. “To drive our business forward, we have accelerated our efforts to develop a strong, diverse bench of transformational leaders across the organization and to enhance our support of employee volunteerism for civic and charitable causes.”
September 11, 2020
RAI Concludes PMTA filings for 2020

PHoto: RAI
Reynolds American Inc. (RAI), has filed its final premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) submissions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow its Vuse and Velo brands to remain on the market in the United States.
Submitted Sept. 4, the filing concludes an 11-month process for RAI. The company has filed six applications for its Vuse Solo, Vuse Ciro and Vuse Vibe vapor products, as well as for its Velo nicotine lozenge and modern oral pouch products. Across the six applications, more than 530,000 pages of scientific data and more than 8,600 scientific documents have been submitted as part of the filings.
RAI parent company BAT says it is committed to reducing the health impact of its business with a multicategory approach that offers consumers a wide range of enjoyable and lower-risk alternatives to cigarettes. With noncombustible nicotine products now available in more than 40 countries, the group’s ambition is to exceed 50 million noncombustible consumers by 2030.
Kingsley Wheaton
“The U.S. is the world’s largest vaping market and so the completion of our PMTA filings is a really important step for us as we transform our organization, drive a step change in our ‘new categories’ business, and increase our non-combustible consumer base and revenues,” said Kingsley Wheaton, chief marketing officer of BAT.
“Our transformation is progressing very well and in the first six months of 2020 we attracted an additional 2.7 million new noncombustible consumers compared to the same time last year. Globally, we now have nearly 12 million regular noncombustible consumers and the U.S. will play a large part of our ambition to grow this number to at least 50 million by 2030.
“We remain fully committed to building a better tomorrow and reducing the health impact of our business by offering consumers a range of enjoyable and lower risk products including vapor, tobacco heating and modern oral nicotine products.”
The FDA’s PMTA deadline is Sept. 9.
September 7, 2020