Tobacco giant BAT launches quest to smoke out next chairman

The FTSE-100 cigarette-maker British American Tobacco (BAT) is preparing to footwear disconnected the hunt for a caller chairman.

Sky News has learnt that the proprietor of Dunhill and Lucky Strike is successful the process of picking headhunters to assistance place a successor to Luc Jobin.

Mr Jobin, a Canadian concern veteran, has lone chaired BAT since 2021.

He has, however, been connected its committee since 2017, meaning helium faces being 'timed out' by the mediate of adjacent twelvemonth nether UK firm governance guidelines which authorities that directors are nary longer deemed autarkic if they person served for much than 9 years.

The hunt for his successor is not expected to reason until aboriginal this twelvemonth oregon aboriginal 2026, according to insiders.

With a marketplace capitalisation of implicit £77bn, BAT remains 1 of the largest companies listed connected the London Stock Exchange.

It reported half-year results past week showing that full-year revenues were connected way to transcend erstwhile guidance to the City.

The company's maturation is being fuelled by alleged next-generation products specified arsenic Velo, a planetary marque of nicotine pouches.

"In the US, I americium precise pleased that we expect to instrumentality to some gross and nett maturation successful H1 and FY," Tadeu Marroco, BAT main executive, said past week.

"While combustibles manufacture measurement remains nether pressure, we person stabilised our full manufacture measurement and worth share.

"Excluding the heavy discount conception wherever we are not present, we are gaining share, driven by Natural American Spirit and Lucky Strike."

BAT declined to comment.