ITG Brands Appoints Executive Team to Lead New Company

GREENSBORO, N.C. — ITG Brands LLC announced the appointment of several executive team members, which will become effective upon the expected completion of the merger between Lorillard Inc. and Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) and ITG's subsequent transactions with both companies.

As CSNews Online previously reported, ITG will become the third-largest tobacco company in the United States. ITG will offer a broad portfolio of cigarette, cigar and electronic cigarette brands, including Winston, Kool, Salem, Maverick and USA Gold cigarettes; Dutch Masters, Backwoods and Phillies cigars; and blu eCigs electronic cigarettes.

Greensboro-based ITG, a wholly owned subsidiary of Imperial Tobacco Group plc, earlier named David H. Taylor as its president and CEO.

If all regulatory approvals and closing conditions are completed, joining Taylor at ITG will be:

  • Adam Britner, executive vice president (EVP), finance & planning, and chief financial officer — currently head of business development for Imperial Tobacco Group;
  • Charles E. “Ned” Hennighausen, EVP, production operations — currently EVP of production operations for Lorillard;
  • Ronald S. Milstein, EVP, external affairs — currently EVP of legal and external affairs, general counsel and secretary for Lorillard;
  • Randy B. Spell, EVP, marketing & sales — currently EVP of marketing & sales for Lorillard; 
  • Robert D. Wilkey, EVP, general counsel — currently general counsel, vice president of legal & corporate affairs for Commonwealth-Altadis;
  • William G. Crump, senior vice president (SVP), human resources — currently SVP of human resources for Lorillard;
  • Kathleen A. Sparrow, SVP, sales — currently SVP of sales for Lorillard;   
  • William R. True, SVP, research & development — currently SVP of research & development for Lorillard; and
  • Neil L. Wilcox, SVP, chief compliance officer — currently SVP, chief compliance officer for Lorillard. 

“I’m very pleased to announce the appointment of ITG Brands’ new team of leaders,” said Taylor, who currently is EVP and chief financial officer for Lorillard. “This group represents a wealth of experience across all functional areas and will allow ITG Brands to establish itself as a major competitive player in the U.S. tobacco market.”

Under the proposed deal structure, Winston-Salem, N.C.-based RAI will buy Greensboro, N.C.-based Lorillard for $27.4 billion and keep the Newport brand, which represents 90 percent of Lorillard's existing sales and profitability, as well as the True and Old Gold brands. United Kingdom-based British American Tobacco, RAI's largest shareholder, will maintain its 42-percent ownership in RAI through an investment of approximately $4.7 billion.

Once that transaction closes, Imperial Tobacco will pay $7.1 billion for the Winston, Kool and Salem brands from RAI and the Maverick and blu eCig brands from Lorillard. These acquisitions will build on Imperial's existing U.S. portfolio at Commonwealth-Altadis, which currently accounts for a 3-percent share of the U.S. market, principally through the USA Gold brand.

In addition, United Kingdom-based Imperial will acquire Lorillard's infrastructure, which includes the company's manufacturing facility, headquarters offices, research and development facility, and approximately 2,900 employees. Hereafter, Imperial’s new U.S. subsidiary will be known as ITG Brands and be based in Greensboro.

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