View of a sign outside the Imperial Tobacco Seita cigarette plant in Carquefou, near Nantes, April 15, 2014. — Reuters pic
LONDON, Feb 3 — British tobacco giant Imperial Brands today said car boss Stefan Bomhard will replace chief executive Alison Cooper, joining as the sector faces a US partial ban on vaping.
“After a thorough search process... the board is delighted to appoint Stefan as chief executive,” chair Therese Esperdy said in a statement, pointing to his “significant experience... within large multinational organisations, particularly in brand building and consumer-led sales and marketing”.
Bomhard joins from premium car services group Inchcape, where he has been CEO for five years.
Imperial, which makes vaping brand blu as well as traditional cigarettes such as Davidoff, Gauloises and Winston, announced in October Cooper’s intention to step down once a successor had been found.
She leaves after nine years as chief executive, while her tenure ended with Imperial issuing a profit warning in late 2019 faced with a backlash against vaping in the United States.
The US last month announced a ban on most flavoured e-cigarettes to curb a rising tide of youth vaping, but under industry pressure stopped short of the full ban promised by the White House.
Also in January, the World Health Organization claimed that electronic cigarettes are harmful to users and bystanders exposed to the fumes, warning they can damage growing foetuses and impact teenagers’ brains. — AFP