Lucky Strike-maker British American Tobacco (BAT) has lined up Paul McCrory as its next general counsel, replacing Jerome Abelman who is stepping down at the end of the year.
McCrory is currently the company’s director for corporate and regulatory affairs. He will become director for legal and GC designate from 1 October, before officially taking over from Abelman on 1 January.
London-based BAT owns cigarette brands including Lucky Strike, Kent, Dunhill and Rothmans, as well as vaping brand Vuse and nicotine pouch brand Velo.
Tadeu Marroco, CEO of BAT, said: “[McCrory] brings close to two decades of legal and regulatory experience within BAT, and his appointment reflects the group’s commitment to maintaining strong legal leadership aligned with our strategic priorities.”
McCrory originally joined BAT in 2006 as group M&A counsel, before taking on a number of different roles including assistant GC for commercial and group company secretary. He took up his current position in 2023. Prior to joining BAT, he worked in-house at French bank Societe Generale, having started his career in private practice at legacy firm Herbert Smith.
His corporate and regulatory affairs responsibilities will be handed to chief corporate officer Kingsley Wheaton from 1 October.
Abelman, meanwhile, is set to retire after 23 years with the company, the past 11 of them as GC.
Marroco said: “My sincere gratitude to Jerry for his dedication to BAT over his career of 23 years, including 11 on the management board and as general counsel. He has successfully navigated the group through a series of strategic legal and regulatory matters across the globe while developing talented and diverse teams of legal, external affairs and security professionals.”
In other recent consumer brand moves, chocolate giant Mars last month named Myriah Gambrell-Glenn as GC for its global snacking business, while in June music streaming platform Spotify named its interim GC Kevan Choset as its permanent legal head.
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