Dive Brief:
- Lucky Strikes owner British American Tobacco appointed company alum Dragos Constantinescu as its CFO and executive director in a move effective Sept. 1, according to a Thursday press release.
- Constantinescu will succeed interim CFO Javed Iqbal, who will step down as of the effective date. Iqbal will continue to serve as director, digital and information for the London-based tobacco company after serving as interim finance chief, according to the press release.
- Constantinescu, who spent 16 years at BAT before moving to a managing director role for Asahi Breweries, will take the CFO seat at “an important stage in BAT’s transformation,” CEO Tadeu Marroco said in a statement included in the release. “His international experience alongside a strong understanding of BAT will be key assets as we continue to focus on quality growth, the sustainable delivery of our mid-term growth algorithm and robust cash returns.”
Dive Insight:
Constantinescu’s previous 16-year span at the company, which owns cigarette brands including Camel and Lucky Strike alongside vapor products such as Vuse, included serving in such roles as area director for its Central Europe North division, general manager for Poland and head of corporate finance for Western Europe, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He will rejoin the tobacco firm after seven years at London-based food and spirits business Asahi Group Holdings, where he most recently served as CEO for Asahi Europe and International.
Constantinescu’s appointment is the latest CFO change by the global tobacco company, which announced last April that its finance chief, Soraya Benchikh, was stepping down after about 15 months in the role, CFO Dive reported at the time. Iqbal, who first joined BAT in 1996, has served as a director since that time and as interim CFO twice.
The CFO switch coincides with efforts by the company to advance its “A Better Tomorrow” strategy, which aims to “migrate” smokers from cigarettes to smokeless tobacco products. The strategy aims to reduce the “serious health risks” from combustible tobacco and drive long-term shareholder value, according to a company description of the initiative.
BAT has “a clear transformation strategy and is building positive momentum in its transformation toward A Better Tomorrow,” Constantinescu said in a statement included in the Thursday press release. “I look forward to working with Tadeu, the Board and the management team to help shape and support BAT’s strategic priorities through this transformation, while ensuring disciplined execution and strong returns to shareholders.”
BAT has continued to see strong growth from its newer product ranges, including its “smokeless” segment, which includes three global brands: its glo heated product, Vuse vapor product and Velo oral nicotine patches.
Sales from those products now represent over over 18% of its group revenue, an increase of 70 basis points from 2024. The company now has 34.1 million users of its smokeless brands, according to its earnings report published Feb. 12.
The company’s continued focus on its “smokeless” products also comes as the tobacco industry faces increased regulatory scrutiny, particularly in the European Union, where two directives focused on tobacco products and advertising are under review: The Tobacco Products Directive (TPD) and Tobacco Advertising Directive (TAD).
The TPD, which took force in 2016, concerns the “manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco,” including smokeless tobacco and e-cigarette products, according to the European Commission website.
In a report published April 1 evaluating the impact of both directives, the commission highlighted the emerging public health risks associated with “novel” as well as traditional tobacco products, including heated tobacco and nicotine patches.
“They pose a particular threat to younger generations, who are at risk of nicotine addiction and long-term health consequences, not least in view of the attractive features and assertive online promotion of these products,” the commission said in a report summary, noting it plans to propose revisions in the EU’s tobacco control legislations this year.
BAT published a response to the release of the report on April 2, warning that the EU “risks missing its 2040 smoke-free goal if it lets political decisions inform evidence.”
“The report acknowledges that it couldn't make a clear distinction between the contributions of specific policy measures, and admits to making no effort to assess the impact of ‘external factors,’ like consumer preferences or the availability of smokeless alternatives, on smoking rates,” BAT wrote in its response, which laid out six “key concerns” the global tobacco company has with the evaluation.
