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Charlotte’s Web Appoints BAT Group Head to Board

Charlotte’s Web Holdings, a supplier of cannabidiol (CBD) hemp extract wellness products, has appointed Jonathan P. Atwood to the company’s board of directors, according to PR Newswire. Atwood is currently the group head of business communications for BAT and is responsible for BAT’s external, internal and corporate brand communications. Atwood was designated as a board nominee by BAT in connection with its November purchase of convertible debenture in Charlotte’s Web.

Atwood held senior management positions at Unilever, most recently leading global supply chain communications. Prior to that, he led sustainability and corporate communications for Unilever North America. Atwood is an advocate of sustainability and has worked closely with B Corps companies.

Charlotte’s Web is the only publicly traded CBD B Corp-certified company.

“We welcome Jonathan as a valuable addition to the board where he can support our international and sustainability ambitions. We look forward to working closely together on our mutually shared interests,” said John Held, chairman of the board of Charlotte’s Web.

Atwood’s appointment brings the total number of directors on the Charlotte’s Web board to six.

March 15, 2023

New Category Growth Drives BAT Revenue

BAT released its 2022 financial results, showing that revenue was up 2.3 percent, driven by new category growth and pricing. Adjusted profit from operations was up 4.3 percent, absorbing a negative transactional foreign currency impact of 1.5 percent.

For 2023, the company expects the global tobacco industry volume to be down about 2 percent. An organic constant currency revenue growth of 3 percent to 5 percent is expected, with reported growth impacted by the timing of the transfer of the Russian and Belarussian businesses expected to close in 2023.

“We continue to accelerate our ‘A Better Tomorrow’ transformation at speed,” said BAT CEO Jack Bowles. “Driven by our strong new category momentum, (with revenue approaching £3 billion), we are confident in our £5 billion ($6.09 billion) revenue target by 2025 and now expect new category profitability in 2024, one year ahead of plan.

“Our new category business delivered strong volume, revenue and market share growth and has become a significant contributor to the group’s financial delivery. In 2022, we invested more than £2 billion in new categories to drive long-term sustainable growth while making excellent progress in reducing operating losses by 62 percent.

“While reported results were impacted by a number of one-off charges, we achieved a 150 bps improvement in adjusted operating margin at current rates and another year of 100 percent operating cash conversion, demonstrating our ability to successfully navigate an increasingly challenging macroeconomic environment. This enabled us to return £6.9 billion to shareholders in 2022. I am proud of our people and their focus on delivery of our three strategic priorities, demonstrating once again the strength and resilience of our business.

“Looking forward, while we expect the macroeconomic environment to remain challenging, we will continue to deliver and further accelerate our transformation. We will leverage our well-established multi-category brand portfolio, our new regional structure to enable even greater collaboration and accelerated decision-making and our new market archetype model to guide our strategic choices and resource allocation to further enhance returns.”

February 9, 2023

PMI, BAT Recognized for Gender Equality

Philip Morris International and BAT were included in the 2023 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index (GEI).

PMI made the index for the third year running, achieving an overall score of 80.6 percent.

“Achieving gender balance at all levels of the company is one of our top priorities, and I am delighted that our efforts are recognized again in this year’s index,” said Silke Muenster, chief diversity officer at PMI. “While we are making significant progress, we know we need to keep our foot on the acceleration pedal. An inclusive workplace that leverages the full talents of both women and men is crucial to our smoke-free vision, making our organization more innovative, resourceful and engaged.”

In 2022, PMI achieved its target of ensuring at least 40 percent female representation in managerial roles and announced a new target to achieve 35 percent of women in senior roles by the end of 2025, among other targets.

BAT, which participated in the index for the first time, received a score of 75 percent. BAT was recognized for creating an inclusive culture for women via its recruiting initiatives, adoption of family-friendly policies, sponsoring programs dedicated to educating women, and support of community programs. Inclusion in the index follows BAT being named as a Global Top Employer for a sixth successive year.

“Recognition in this year’s Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index demonstrates our commitment to addressing gender diversity and highlights our concerted global efforts to provide transparent reporting,” said Hae In Kim, BAT’s director of talent, culture and inclusion. “With more than 50,000 employees worldwide, our diversity and inclusion strategy is truly global, and I continue to be incredibly proud of the collective efforts made by all our employees.”

The GEI measures gender equality performance globally across five pillars as set by Bloomberg: leadership and talent pipeline, equal pay and gender pay parity, inclusive culture, anti-sexual harassment policies, and external brand. The 2023 Bloomberg GEI comprises 485 companies from 45 countries and regions.

February 1, 2023

BAT Named Global Top Employer

BAT has been certified as a Global Top Employer for the sixth consecutive year, according to the company.

Certification is granted by the Top Employers Institute, an independent organization that studies the employee offerings of major employers around the world.

“We are delighted to have been recognized once again as a Global Top Employer,” said Hae In Kim, director of talent, culture and inclusion at BAT. “Our people are our most important asset as we strive to build ‘A Better Tomorrow.’ The BAT ethos sets a clear direction for us to enable a diverse and inclusive workplace culture, and we are committed to attracting, developing and retaining a talented workforce by putting our people first.”

In 2023, BAT has been named as a Top Employer in a total of 37 countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa. Certification this year marks the first time BAT’s U.S. subsidiary, Reynolds American Inc., has been named as a Top Employer in the United States.

January 17, 2023

BAT to Close Swiss Plant

BAT will close a cigarette manufacturing plant in Switzerland in 2023, reports Reuters.

The closure will cause the layoff of 226 workers. Employees will be given an “advantageous social package,” according to SwissInfo.

“BAT Switzerland confirms that a final decision has been made to transfer cigarette production from Boncourt to larger factories within Europe and to close the Boncourt site,” BAT said in a statement.

Boncourt Mayor Lionel Maitre said the closure is “a shock, a disappointment, a feeling of desperation and a mess.” The factory closure will cause Boncourt to lose its biggest taxpayer.

“Let’s be clear—this is a hard blow, but we will overcome it, and the situation is not hopeless,” said Jura government President David Eray. “This decision brings us face-to-face with the painful consequences that we feared.”

In 2014, BAT closed a research and development facility in Boncourt, laying off about 15 people.

December 16, 2022

BAT Launching glo in Cyprus

BAT is launching its tobacco-heating product glo in Cyprus, according to The Cyprus Mail. The launch is expected to contribute to the economy and society in Cyprus, boosting employment with new jobs while supporting the country’s network of retailers and distributors.

“BAT is on a transformation journey to build ‘A Better Tomorrow’ by reducing the health impact of our business,” said Vitalii Kochenko, general manager of BAT Hellas responsible for the markets of Cyprus, Greece, Malta and Israel. “We are proud to bring innovation and technology to the local market with BAT’s tobacco-heating product, putting Cyprus amongst the markets that the international group of BAT has chosen for this launch.”

Glo hyper+ in Cyprus is BAT’s latest iteration of its tobacco-heating product. The device combines BAT’s latest tobacco-heating technology, induction heating, and will be accompanied by neo demi slim sticks, which are specially designed to be used with this device.

May 19, 2022

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