Philip Morris International (PMI) has announced a new regional structure and related senior management changes to enable continued growth as a multicategory leader internationally and advance its rapid transition towards a smoke-free future.
Among the changes, Paul Riley, currently President, East Asia & Australia Region, will be appointed President, East Asia, Australia, and PMI Duty Free Region. Drago Azinovic, currently President, Middle East and Africa and PMI Duty Free Region, will leave the organisation after a transition period.
Riley has enjoyed a highly successful career with PMI since 1998 when he joined Philip Morris Australia, holding numerous senior roles across various geographies since.
“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,” said PMI Chief Executive Officer Jacek Olczak.
“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 calibre and determination of our people and wish them the best in their new roles.”
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:
- As mentioned, 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 will continue as President, Americas Region.
In addition, the following appointments will also 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 USA business, reporting to Deepak Mishra.
Scott Coutts, currently Vice President, Global Manufacturing, will be appointed Senior Vice President, Operations, succeeding Massimo Andolina and reporting into Jacek Olczak.
PMI said the new regional structure better aligns with the company’s business strategy in the approximately 180 markets where its 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 USA, the world’s largest smoke-free market.
