British American Tobacco (BAT) has announced that Andrew Gray, chief marketing officer, will step down from the Management Board at the end of December 2018 and will leave the group on 31 March 2019.
“I would like to thank Andrew for his outstanding leadership and service to BAT over his highly successful 32-year career. We will miss his calm demeanour, his strategic thinking and his considerable experience of our business,” said CEO, Nicandro Durante, who himself has announced his forthcoming departure from the company.
“The evolution of our marketing strategy under his leadership will benefit the group for many years to come. On behalf of the entire organisation I would like to wish him all the very best for the future.”
Gray has spent over 32 years with the company, starting as a management trainee with our Brazilian subsidiary, Souza Cruz.
He progressed to become Managing Director of BAT Malaysia and President of Souza Cruz before being appointed to the Management Board in 2008 as Regional Director Africa & Middle East.
Following that, he served as Regional Director, Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa before assuming his current role.
Kingsley Wheaton
BAT revealed that Gray will be replaced by Kingsley Wheaton, currently the group’s regional director, Americas and Sub Saharan Africa (AMSSA). Kingsley will commence his new role on 1 January 2019.
“I am also extremely pleased that Andrew will be succeeded by such a dynamic and experienced leader. Kingsley brings an enormous amount of marketing knowledge and passion to this role,” Durante continued.
“At this transformative time for our company, his experience of running and growing our potentially reduced-risk products business will be particularly important for the future growth of the business under Jack Bowles, my successor as CEO.”
“Having worked with Kingsley for a long time there is no doubt that he is an excellent fit for this role. His breadth of experience right across our business, combined with his proven leadership, positions him extremely well to continue driving our transforming tobacco strategy,” Jack Bowles said, CEO of Designate.
An announcement regarding Kingsley’s successor as Regional Director, AMSSA will be made in due course, the company said.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
