BOULDER, Colo. -- At the upcoming Smoker Friendly Conference & Tobacco Festival in Broomfield, Colo., August 20 to August 22, Smoker Friendly will convene a panel to discuss the changes in all tobacco categories because of mergers and acquisitions and the opportunities that it may provide retailers.
For the general session, Smoker Friendly has assembled a group of individuals to discuss the advantages and pitfalls of marketing tobacco in the United States and globally.
Melissa VonderHaar, tobacco editor for CSP Information Group, will moderate the panel.
Panelists include:
- Dan Carr, president of General Cigar. Prior to General Cigar, Carr served in various positions with Scandinavian Tobacco Group. He served as the senior vice president of sales and marketing for Swedish Match North America from 2007 to 2010. Prior to that he was the vice president of sales and marketing with Swedish Match from 1999 to 2007. He severs as the chairman of the Cigar Association of America and is on the board of the Tobacco Merchants Association.
- J. Kelly Michols, CEO Scandinavian Tobacco Group-Lane USA. Michols became the CEO of STG-LaneUSA in March 2015. Before that, he was president since 2013. His vision is to create and build a profitable business unit for STG, with strategic growth. STG manufactures and markets cigars, fine-cut tobacco and traditional pipe tobacco in the United States and in more than 100 countries.
- Henry Sicignano III, CEO and president of 22nd Century Group Inc. Sicignano has held his current position since March 2015. Prior to that, he was the COO of 22nd Century Group. The company manufactures cigarettes and filtered cigars; it also holds patents for a wide variety of items. Red Sun is its premier brand, marketed throughout the United States. It also market cigarette brands globally and works with the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on nicotine strengths. Previously, he was the vice president and director of marketing for Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Co., manufacturer of American Spirit brands prior to the sale of that company to R.J. Reynolds Tobacco.
To round out the information packed general session Thomas Briant the executive director of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO), and Mark Pursell the executive director of the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR), will be giving a legislative and FDA update on the tobacco and cigar industries.
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