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Category: Around the Industry

  • Executive Appointments at Ispire

    Executive Appointments at Ispire

    Photo: Ink Drop

    Ispire Technology has appointed Jim McCormick chief financial officer. The company also announced the appointments of John Patterson as senior vice president of international nicotine; Dennis Lider as senior vice president of cannabis product sales; and David Hessler as senior vice president of operations.

    McCormick has more than three decades of diverse leadership experience to his new role. He started his career in public accounting with KPMG Peat Marwick in 1989, transitioning to consumer goods with Mid-America Pepsi-Cola and later joining BAT’s associate company Brown & Williamson Tobacco in 1992. At BAT, he held various international general management and CFO positions across Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Northern Africa.

    Patterson has more than 25 years of extensive experience in the tobacco and next-generation nicotine categories, spanning both U.S. domestic and international markets, notably in the U.K. and the EU. Beginning his career at Altria, Patterson has since held pivotal roles across Europe for Philip Morris International, NJOY and most recently Juul Labs, where he served as senior director and country manager for the United Kingdom.

    With more than 20 years of CPG sales leadership experience, Lider boasts over a decade of executive leadership in revenue management. Since 2019, he has held senior-level positions with publicly traded cannabis companies, overseeing wholesale, retail and distribution sales functions. Lider brings a wealth of experience in international market expansions, corporate business development, global sales management and channel diversification.

    Hessler, senior vice president of operations, began his career in California’s shipping industry after graduating from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. He went to Moscow in 1992, where he spent two decades in the global cigarette industry with PMI and JTI. Hessler led At JTI’s global supply chain organization’s customer service department in Geneva, managing operations across 190 markets with over 5,000 SKUs.

    “We’re thrilled to announce this significant talent upgrade at Ispire as we gear up for rapid expansion both domestically and internationally,” said Ispire Co-CEO Michael Wang in a statement.

  • Reynold American’s WaterHub Recognized

    Reynold American’s WaterHub Recognized

    Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) has been recognized with a 2024 SEAL Business Sustainability Award in the environmental initiative award category for its WaterHub project under construction at the Reynolds Operations Center in Tobaccoville, North Carolina, USA.

    The SEAL Business Sustainability Awards honor leadership, innovation and commitment to sustainable business practices.

    The Environmental Initiative Award evaluated applicants on impact metrics, innovation and uniqueness of the initiative, sharing of insights and best practices along with investment of organizational leadership capital.

    Reynolds’ award-winning initiative, the WaterHub, is an advanced water recycling facility and product of a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources, and one of few water recycling projects of its scale. Once construction is complete, the WaterHub is expected to reclaim more than 60 million gallons of water per year, equivalent to the annual water supply of approximately 550 average U.S. households.

    “We are proud of all the efforts being made across the Reynolds American organization to preserve and make efficient use of the precious natural resources we rely on to run our business,” said RAI Executive Vice President of Operations Bernd Meyer in a statement. “This SEAL recognition is a testament to our sustainability progress and the expected positive impact of the WaterHub, our advanced water recycling facility at our largest manufacturing facility, in collaboration with NextEra Energy Resources.”

  • Mustafa Named Influential Executive

    Mustafa Named Influential Executive

    Shay Mustafa | Photo: Reynolds

    Shay Mustafa, senior vice president of business communications and sustainability for Reynolds, has been named one of the 2024 Most Influential Executives in Corporate America by Savoy magazine. Mustafa is among a dynamic and diverse group of CEOs, chief operating officers and top executives who exemplify exceptional leadership and influence in the corporate world.

    A member of Reynolds’ U.S. executive team and member of the global leadership community for Reynolds’ parent BAT, Mustafa has a key role in helping to transform the tobacco and nicotine industry. In her current role, Mustafa leads the strategic communications and sustainability agenda for the U.S., the global BAT Group’s largest operating region. Previously, she held commercial leadership positions across the Reynolds organization’s brand portfolio, including launching, commercializing and responsibly marketing next-generation products.

    “I am deeply honored to be recognized by Savoy magazine and to be among this highly influential and esteemed group of leaders,” said Mustafa in a press release. “Collectively, our leadership is transforming companies across the globe and ushering in more diversity within the leadership ranks.”

    “The Savoy recognition shines a bright spotlight on the careers of accomplished corporate leaders and serves as a beacon to those who are just starting on their career journey and to those who are at a professional midpoint, seeking to break through to the executive level.”

    Savoy magazine’s selection process for the Most Influential Executives in Corporate America involved a meticulous review of accomplishments in corporate influence, academic achievement, career growth, community outreach and recognition. This year’s list features over 300 distinguished professionals across various industries, demonstrating breadth and depth of talent in leadership.

    Mustafa was a 2023 Global 100 Empower Executive, recognizing efforts to promote diversity and inclusion. She is also the executive sponsor of the African American Employees Resource Group at Reynolds. In 2023, she founded BAT’s Women’s Executive Network to advance and sustain gender diversity and inclusivity within BAT’s executive leadership ranks globally.

  • KT&G Recognized for Sustainability

    KT&G Recognized for Sustainability

    Photo: KT&G

    KT&G has been selected as a leading company (Leadership Grade) in the climate change response and water resource management sectors by the global environmental assessment organization CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project).

    Following last year, KT&G has achieved the top grade in the Leadership category in both climate change response and water resource management. In particular, in the water resource management sector, it has risen from Leadership A- last year to the highest grade, A, with only three domestic companies in South Korea receiving an A grade out of the 100 winning companies worldwide. The climate change response sector maintained its Leadership A- grade from last year.

    KT&G established its medium-term to long-term environmental management vision, 2030 Green Impact, in 2021 and has been practicing ESG management to achieve carbon neutrality throughout its value chain. It has set greenhouse gas reduction targets contributing to limiting the rise in global temperatures to within 1.5 degrees Celsius and achieved a 7.5 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from domestic and overseas facilities as of 2022 (compared to the base year of 2020). Additionally, it has enhanced the reliability and objectivity of greenhouse gas emission data by undergoing third-party verification for the emissions in its supply chain.

    In the water resource management sector, KT&G has set a goal to reduce water usage in domestic and overseas manufacturing facilities by 20 percent by 2030 compared to 2020 and is implementing measures to achieve this target. KT&G plans to systematically practice environmental management in the future through the expansion of renewable energy use, water recycling and energy efficiency enhancement.

    CDP, founded in the U.K. in 2000 as a nonprofit organization, requests environmental management information disclosure from over 23,000 companies worldwide and conducts analysis and evaluation of this information. It is also recognized as a credible sustainability assessment organization along with Morgan Stanley International.

    “We have been recognized as an excellent company by CDP for our climate change response and systematic water resource management capabilities in line with global standards,” said a KT&G representative in a statement. “We will continue to promote genuine ESG management, including leading the acceleration of the transition to a circular economy.”

  • Pyxus Recognized as Environmental Leader

    Pyxus Recognized as Environmental Leader

    Image: blacksalmon

    Pyxus International has been recognized as a leader in climate change transparency and performance by the environmental nonprofit CDP. CDP ranked Pyxus among the top tier of responding companies in the climate change category, earning the business “Leadership” status, the highest level of achievement.

    “Achieving CDP’s Leadership status is a testament to our global teams’ hard work, ingenuity and commitment to growing a better world,” said Pyxus President and CEO Pieter Sikkel in a statement. “We are pleased that our unified approach to sustainable action and core belief in transparency has earned us this coveted recognition, and as we move forward in our net-zero journey, it will serve as a reminder that our efforts, large and small, make an impact.”

    Pyxus’ A- score for its actions to mitigate climate change ranked higher than the industry, North America and global averages of B, C and C, respectively, and reflects the company’s 11 percent year-over-year reduction of greenhouse gas emissions as reported in its FY2023 Sustainability Report and its CDP disclosure. Additionally, the company earned a B score in both the water security and forestry categories, which indicates it has addressed the environmental impacts of the business and has implemented good environmental management practices specific to water and forestry.

    Pyxus’ scores reflect data compiled from its family of companies and brands, and were determined by CDP-accredited scoring partners on a scale ranging from A to D- and then measured against more than 21,000 entities as part of the 2023 process.

    Pyxus began reporting its greenhouse gas emissions to CDP in 2009, its water data in 2014 and its forestry data in 2020.

  • Firms Recognized for Sustainability

    Firms Recognized for Sustainability

    Photo: lovelyday12

    Philip Morris International and Japan Tobacco have been recognized for their environmental initiatives.

    For the fourth consecutive year, PMI received a triple-A rating from CDP for its disclosures on climate change, forests and water security.

    PMI has maintained a position on CDP’s Climate A-List for the past 10 years, reflecting its commitment to transparency and performance as the company progresses toward achieving its science-based targets as well as carbon neutrality for scope 1 and 2 by 2025 and net zero by 2040 for scope 1, 2 and 3.

    PMI’s efforts to halt deforestation, moving to zero net deforestation in managed forests by 2030, have further been recognized by CDP, which placed the company on its Forests A-List for the fourth consecutive year. This is the fifth year that PMI has been featured on CDP’s Water A-List as the company works toward its water optimization targets, which include optimization of 10 million cubic meters of water in its tobacco growing areas by 2030.

    “External recognition from organizations like CDP encourages us to continue our transformation journey and commitment to sustainability. We are pleased PMI has received CDP’s triple-A distinction for the fourth consecutive time,” said Scott Coutts, senior vice president of operations, in a statement. “Clear and transparent reporting of our progress helps us find new opportunities for action, identify and tackle growing risks, and get ahead of regulatory and policy changes.”

    PMI is also committed to advancing the adoption of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) recommendations and intends to publish its first TNFD-aligned report for financial year 2025. Accordingly, PMI has been included in an inaugural cohort of organizations that intend to become TNFD early adopters.

    “We recognize the urgency to address climate change and protect biodiversity, and this is why our decarbonization strategy and progress are closely tied to preserving natural ecosystems,” said Jennifer Motles, chief sustainability officer. “We are proud to be an early adopter of the TNFD framework and will be reporting on it in 2025, which builds on the work we have already done to incorporate climate-related risk and opportunities into our overall business strategy and disclosure efforts, following the Taskforce on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations.”

    Japan Tobacco was recognized by CDP for its leadership in corporate sustainability for a fifth year in a row. The JT Group is one of 61 companies worldwide and 22 in Japan to be included on the Climate Change A-List and Water Security A-List out of more than 23,000 companies participating in the 2023 CDP environmental disclosure program. Overall, this inclusion marks the group’s sixth recognition for climate change, and fourth recognition for water security.

     “We are honored that the JT Group has been recognized on CDP’s A-List for a fifth consecutive year,” said JT Group Senior Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer Hisato Imokawa, in a statement. “This inclusion reflects our continued efforts to reduce our environmental footprint and expand our transparency in disclosing information. ‘Living with the Planet’ is a key aspect of the JT Group Materiality, and we aim to achieve the sustainable relationship between nature, people and businesses through efforts to improve the impact of our activities on the environment. We are currently defining more ambitious targets for our environmental initiatives and plan to disclose them in early 2024. These targets will support our goals of contributing to the sustainable development of society by further fulfilling our responsibilities and maintaining the trust of our stakeholders.”

  • RELX Recognized for Sustainability

    RELX Recognized for Sustainability

    Image: RLX Technology

    RLX Technology’s (RELX) score rose 13 percent in S&P Global’s most recent corporate sustainability assessment. The company ranked first among all global e-cigarette companies for the second consecutive year.

    The Chinese company scored well above the industry average in many ESG topics, such as product innovation management, business ethics, talent development, greenhouse gas emissions and transparency of information disclosure.

    “RELX views sustainability not just as a goal but as a fundamental part of our DNA,” said RELX Senior Manager for External Affairs Elgin Seah in a statement. “The impressive rating from S&P Global reaffirms that our efforts in environmental conservation, social responsibility and corporate governance are making a meaningful difference.”

    In addition to complying with China’s recently created product standards for e-cigarettes, RELX has established a full life-cycle quality assurance program to ensure product quality and safety in a holistic manner.

  • McKinney Hires Fearon as Chief Scientific Officer

    McKinney Hires Fearon as Chief Scientific Officer

    McKinney Regulatory Science Advisors stated today that it has appointed Ian Fearon as its new Chief Scientific Officer.

    Fearon will play a pivotal role in enhancing the regulatory science consulting firm’s capabilities and expanding its range of services to clients, according to a press release.

    “Fearon brings over 15 years of invaluable experience in the field of Tobacco Harm Reduction, with a specific focus on clinical and behavioral studies of these products,” the release states. “His deep understanding of regulatory submissions in the United States and Europe will enable McKinney Regulatory Science Advisors to provide unparalleled support and guidance to clients navigating the complex regulatory landscape.”

    Prior to joining McKinney, Fearon held key leadership positions at several industry organizations such as senior director of Clinical and Regulatory Affairs EMEA at Juul Labs, where he helped advance the scientific understanding of tobacco and nicotine products and supported the company’s premarket tobacco product application (PMTA) submission to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

    Fearon also served as the director of Tobacco Research at Celerion, where he contributed to the development of clinical evidence to support regulatory filings, and as principal scientist and head of Clinical Research at British American Tobacco.

    Fearon has published more than 60 papers, including more than 20 on tobacco/nicotine product assessment, which generated more than 3,200 citations, according to the release.

    “We are thrilled to welcome Ian as our Chief Scientific Officer,” said company CEO Willie McKinney. “His extensive experience and deep knowledge of tobacco and nicotine science and worldwide regulations make him an invaluable asset to our team. With Ian’s guidance, we will continue to provide exceptional scientific and regulatory consulting services to our clients, facilitating their success in bringing innovative consumer products to market.”

    As the Chief Scientific Officer at McKinney Regulatory Science Advisors, Fearon will oversee the company’s scientific operations, lead strategic initiatives, and drive innovation in the regulatory science domain, according to the release.