British American Tobacco (BAT) has made key management changes aimed at advancing its sustainability strategy, including the creation of a new chief corporate officer role.
The group announced on Tuesday that Kingsley Wheaton would be appointed into the newly created role of chief corporate officer. Wheaton is chief strategy & growth officer, a position that would cease to exist.
Reporting to CEO Tadeu Marroco, Wheaton would have overall responsibility for the strategy and execution of BAT’s Sustainable Future pillar.
Paul McCrory, director of corporate and regulatory affairs would continue to report to Kingsley in this role, the group said.
McCrory and Wheaton would work together during this phase as the management team evolved to deliver the group’s sustainability strategy.
Donato Del Vecchio, chief sustainability officer, would keep reporting to Kingsley.
The changes come as BAT expands its smokeless new category product portfolio.
Luciano Comin, marketing director of combustibles & new categories, would take on the role of chief marketing officer and report directly to the CEO, the group said.
James Barrett, director of business development, would report to CFO Soraya Benchikh, bringing business development and M&A together with the rest of the finance function.
All these changes are effective immediately.
In the year to end-June, BAT reported that smokeless brands now accounted for 18% of group revenue as it added 1.4-million consumers of its smokeless brands. A total of 26.4-million consumers now use its smokeless brands.
A key pillar of the refined BAT strategy announced earlier in 2024 was the focus on quality growth and a more dynamic business, which underpinned the building of a smokeless world, it said.
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