British American Tobacco is looking for a successor to its chairman of the board, Luc Jobin, because, according to relevant regulations in the UK, if a director holds the position for more than nine years, it will be regarded as having lost its independence. It is expected that the official candidates will be completed later in 2025 or early in 2026.
Key points:
- Luc Jobin, the chairman of British American Tobacco, has been a director since 2017. According to the UK corporate governance guidelines, as he has held the position for more than nine years, he will be regarded as having lost his independence and is required to step down by the middle of 2026. The company has launched a headhunting search for a successor.
- British American Tobacco, with a market value of over 77 billion pounds (104.1 billion US dollars), performed well in the first half of the year. Its full-year revenue is expected to exceed expectations. The growth is mainly driven by “next-generation products” such as the nicotine bag brand Velo. Revenue and profits in the US market are expected to resume growth.
- Despite the pressure on the production of traditional combustible tobacco. The company has stabilized its market share through brands such as Natural American Spirit and Lucky Strike and achieved growth in the non-deep discount market.
British American Tobacco plans to replace the chairman of the board
According to Sky News of the UK on June 9th. British American Tobacco is looking for a successor to its chairman of the board, Luc Jobin. Jobin was appointed as the chairman of the board after the 2021 annual general meeting of shareholders. He has been a member of the board since 2017. According to the UK corporate governance guidelines, he will face the situation of “timed out” by the middle of next year. If a director has served for more than nine years, he will be regarded as having lost his independence.
The successor may be finalized before 2026
According to insiders, the search for his successor is not expected to be completed until later in 2025 or early 2026.
British American Tobacco has a market capitalization of over £77 billion ($104.1 billion) and remains one of the largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. The company’s semi-annual results announced last week indicated that its full-year revenue is expected to exceed previous expectations. The growth of this company is driven by so-called “next-generation products”, such as the global nicotine bag brand Velo.
Tadeu Marroco, the CEO of British American Tobacco, said:
- “In the United States, I am very glad to see that we expect revenue and profits to resume growth in the first half of the year and for the whole year. Although the output of the combustible materials industry is still under pressure, we have stabilized the output and value share of the entire industry. Excluding the deep discount market that we haven’t ventured into yet, our market share is increasing, mainly driven by Natural American Spirit and Lucky Strike.”
