WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Susan M. Cameron, currently president and CEO of Reynolds American Inc., will become executive chairman on Jan. 1, 2017, the tobacco company has announced. RAI’s board has approved a succession plan for key members of the company’s senior leadership team and board.
Cameron will be executive chairman until May 2017, when she is expected to become the non-executive chairman.
Debra A. Crew, currently president and COO of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, RAI’s largest subsidiary, has been named president-elect and CEO-elect of RAI, and will become president and CEO on Jan. 1, 2017. She will also become a member of the RAI board when she becomes CEO.
Cameron (pictured) was named CEO of RAI at the time the company was formed in 2004. She retired in 2011, but returned as CEO in 2014. During her time as CEO, RAI made several strategic and transformational acquisitions, including Lorillard, American Snuff and Niconovum, and its operating companies entered the snus and vapor categories.
“I’m delighted to have the opportunity to continue to be involved in RAI’s future successes from the vantage point of the board chair,” said Cameron.
“Debra very quickly mastered the details and dynamics of our industry since joining R.J. Reynolds two years ago,” Cameron said. “She has played a critical role in the very successful integration of Newport into R.J. Reynolds’ brand portfolio and operations footprint, and has helped drive innovation throughout our businesses. Those accomplishments, together with her 20 years of experience and leadership in consumer products companies, make her the ideal fit to lead RAI and its companies at this inflection point in their histories.”
The company also announced that Joseph P. Fragnito, the former president of the U.S. beverages and snack nuts business unit of the Kraft Heinz Co., will join R.J. Reynolds Tobacco as president and chief commercial officer on Oct. 24.
Fragnito joined Kraft Foods Group in 2000, and has spent his career in marketing and innovation roles with the company. He has managed a number of brands including Planters nuts, Maxwell House coffee, Capri Sun and other beverages, Oscar Mayer meats and meals, and Claussen pickles. In addition, he helped lead the integration planning of Kraft Foods and H.J. Heinz Co. in the months preceding their July 2015 merger, and left the company in August 2016.
“[Fragnito’s] 16 years of experience as a brand marketer and innovator will enable him to hit the ground running,” said Crew. “He understands consumer packaged goods, has a strong track record of bringing brand innovations to market, and knows how to run effective, efficient business units. It will be great to have his experience and expertise on our leadership team.”
Reynolds American is the parent company of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., maker of Newport, Camel and Pall Mall cigarettes; Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co. Inc., maker of Natural American Spirit products; American Snuff Co. LLC, maker of smokeless tobacco products including Grizzly and Kodiak; Niconovum USA Inc. and Niconovum AB, which market nicotine replacement therapy products in the United States and Sweden; and R.J. Reynolds Vapor Co., marketer of Vuse digital vapor cigarettes.
Members help make our journalism possible. Become a CSP member today and unlock exclusive benefits, including unlimited access to all of our content. Sign up here.