Philip Morris International Inc. announced related senior management changes to further growth as a multicategory leader and advance its move toward a smoke-free future.
What are the structural changes at PMI?
By the end of January 2023, PMI will rearrange its operations in four regions, down from the current six, under the leadership of the following members of senior management:
- Paul Riley, currently President, East Asia & Australia Region, will be appointed President, East Asia, Australia, and PMI Duty Free Region;
- Frederic de Wilde, currently President, European Union Region, will be appointed President, South and Southeast Asia (SSEA), Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Middle East and Africa (MEA) Region;
- Massimo Andolina, currently Senior Vice President, Operations, will be appointed President, Europe Region;
- Deepak Mishra, who will continue as President, Americas Region.
Drago Azinovic, President, Middle East and Africa and PMI Duty Free Region, will leave the organization after a transition period. In addition, the following appointments will take effect:
- Marco Mariotti, currently President, Eastern Europe Region, will be appointed President, CIS, Central Asia & Israel, reporting into Frederic de Wilde;
- Stacey Kennedy, currently President, South and Southeast Asia Region, will be appointed Chief Executive Officer of PMI’s U.S. business, reporting to Deepak Mishra; and
- Scott Coutts, currently Vice President, Global Manufacturing, will be appointed Senior Vice President, Operations, succeeding Massimo Andolina and reporting to Jacek Olczak.
What do the changes mean for PMI?
“We are changing the company’s regional structure to further support the growth of our smoke-free business, reinforce consumer centricity, and increase the speed of innovation and deployment—all in alignment with our ambition of becoming a majority smoke-free business by net revenues by 2025,” commented Jacek Olczak, Chief Executive Officer at PMI.
“The new structure will also create new opportunities to further grow our senior talent, deepening the bench of leaders who will spearhead PMI’s progress toward a smoke-free future for the years to come. I am confident of the exceptional caliber and determination of our people and wish them the best in their new roles.” Jacek Olczak further commented.
The new regional structure better aligns with the business strategy in the approximately 180 markets where PMI’s products are sold. It is designed to accelerate smoke-free product growth in markets where IQOS already holds double-digit market shares, while also driving the transition from cigarettes to smoke-free products in untapped markets—including as of April 2024, the U.S., the largest smoke-free market as described in our recent press release.
Furthermore, the new regional structure will further support PMI’s efforts to broaden access to smoke-free products worldwide for those adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, including in low and middle income markets, which the company aspires to account for at least half of the markets where its smoke-free products will be available by 2025.
Each region will comprise individual markets, clusters of markets, and will offer opportunities to accelerate career development within PMI’s diverse talent pipeline. The firm’s quarterly results’ reporting and related filings will reflect the new regional structure as of Q1 2023.
