Japan Tobacco International (JTI) announced on Wednesday that Eddy Pirard will succeed Thomas A. McCoy as president and CEO on April 1, 2017.
McCoy, an American citizen, will be retiring at the end of March next year, after three years in the top spot. Prior to that, he was the chief operating officer since October 2005. He also held many senior positions in American tobacco company RJ Reynolds, and the company said he was instrumental in laying the foundations of JTI.
Pirard, 54, has been the executive vice president of business development in its corporate affairs and communications department since 2014. He is a Belgian national and previously held the position of regional president for western Europe.
Mitsuomi Koizumi, president and CEO of Japan Tobacco, parent company of JTI said: "We would like to thank Mr. McCoy for his unfaltering dedication these last three years and his tremendous contribution in making JTI the growth engine of the JT Group. Under the combined leadership of Messrs. McCoy and Pirard, JTI was able to grow the tobacco business both organically and through acquisitions as well as position itself as a major emerging products player."
McCoy commented on his retirement: "After 17 years at JTI and 15 years at RJ Reynolds, the time has come for me to retire, and to hand over the keys of this extraordinary company to Eddy, who will take it into the next era of commercial success. Eddy’s broad experience in the tobacco business and M&A accomplishments demonstrate that he has the vision and ability to continue to drive the business forward."
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Karen Henderson. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
