FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Tobacco company Commonwealth-Altadis Inc. has appointed Al Dejewski senior vice president for consumer marketing and Eric Workman senior vice president for strategic operations.
Both report directly to Kevin Freudenthal, president and CEO.
"We are quite pleased to have Al join the team," Freudenthal said. "He brings not only the strategically creative vision of a senior marketer, but also a strong background that includes brand and trade marketing experience. His background in both trade and consumer marketing is directly in line with our vision to be the preferred tobacco company for the trade while leveraging our key sales growth drivers--portfolio strategy, innovation, pricing and customer engagement."
Previously, Dejewski was senior vice president of global marketing at Specific Media, a privately held digital media company, where he was responsible for the company's consumer and business-facing brands, leading efforts across advertising and promotions, strategic partnerships and communications. He also oversaw all marketing for the company's Myspace social media unit.
Before that, he spent more than two years at Turner Entertainment Marketing in New York, where he led strategic marketing, promotions, partnerships and branded entertainment for Turner's broadcast and digital properties including TBS, TNT and truTV. At Turner, he developed award-winning marketing campaigns for on-air, digital, social and off-channel categories, working with household brands including DiGiorno, Dr. Pepper, Hershey's, Hyundai, Miller Lite and Nationwide.
Prior to Turner, he spent nearly a decade at PepsiCo, involved with nearly every Pepsi beverage product. He led marketing for Pepsi's entire brand portfolio and managed the company's overall media strategy and partnerships. Notably, Dejewski struck several high-profile deals with partners like iTunes, the Academy Awards, Google/YouTube, Major League Baseball, the NFL, MTV, McDonald's, DreamWorks Animation and StarWars/Lucas Arts, among others.
Dejewski's experience also includes tobacco. Prior to PepsiCo, he was director of marketing for the Skoal tobacco brand at U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co.
Freudenthal also said, "I am pleased to announce that Eric Workman has been appointed to the key position of senior vice president strategic operations."
Freudenthal said Workman has been handling the role of strategic operations for some time as he headed consumer marketing, but will now be able to devote full attention to the position.
"Eric brings a wealth of experience and knowledge of the tobacco industry and the company to this important role," Freudenthal said. "He is responsible for building the foundation for future profitable business growth in a number of areas through developing and nurturing key processes, capturing and gaining critical knowledge, establishing and growing internal and external networks, promoting key stakeholder engagement and identifying and developing strategic business opportunities."
Workman has been with Commonwealth–Altadis and its predecessor companies since 1980. He joined Consolidated Cigar Corp. that year as a marketing and sales analyst and subsequently held the positions of brand manager and national accounts manager. In 1989, he was promoted to vice president of marketing and national accounts. He continued in that position when Altadis USA was formed in 1999 as a result of the merger of SEITA, the former French tobacco monopoly and Tabacalera,SA, the former Spanish tobacco monopoly, which owned Havatampa Inc. In 2007, Workman was promoted to senior vice president, marketing and sales, and was interim general manager of the newly formed Commonwealth–Altadis from Dec. 2011 until Freudenthal took the leadership reins in 2012.
Commonwealth–Altadis is a Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Imperial Tobacco Group Co. providing sales and distribution services to Commonwealth Brands Inc., and Altadis USA Inc. The combined Commonwealth Brands and Altadis USA portfolio includes such brands USA Gold, Sonoma, Dutch Masters, Backwoods and Phillies.
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