British cigarette maker Imperial Brands said Wednesday that CEO Stefan Bomhard will retire after serving five years in the position. The company’s CFO Lukas Paravicini will succeed Bomhard on Oct. 1.
Murray McGowan, Imperial Brands’ chief strategy and development officer, will succeed Lukas as CFO and become a member of the board on Oct. 1. Bomhard will continue to serve on the Imperial Brands board until Dec. 31 and will be available until May 2026 to support Paravicini with the transition.
“With the team now preparing to implement our 2030 strategy, it feels like an appropriate time to hand on the baton to Lukas and Murray,” Bomhard said. “In the coming months, I look forward to supporting them as they transition into their new roles. I would like to thank all the people of Imperial Brands. The strengthening of our business has been very much a team effort.”
The London-based company, whose brand portfolio includes Winston cigarettes and modern oral nicotine pouch Zone, reported its 2025 half-year results for the period ending March 31 on Wednesday.
The company reported next-generation products (NGPs) increased 15.4%.
“Our modern oral portfolio has grown strongly across all markets, including further share gains from the successful roll-out of Zone in the United States,” said Bomhard.
Despite the uncertain global economic environment, Bomhard said the company is on track to deliver “our full-year results in line with our guidance, supported by tobacco pricing already taken in the first half and continued momentum in NGP.”
“In tobacco, we grew aggregate market share in our five priority markets by six basis points—ahead of our strategic objective to hold share,” Bomhard said in a statement. “At the same time, we delivered strong price mix of 5.9% across our overall combustible footprint.”
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