UK
British American Tobacco (BAT) is hunting for a new chairman to succeed Richard Burrows.
Burrows has been chairman of BAT for almost 10 years. He was the managing director of Irish Distillers, whose brands include Jameson, when it was acquired by French firm Pernod Ricard in 1988 following a hostile takeover attempt by Guinness owner Grand Metropolitan, which later became Diageo. He was later appointed co-c.e.o at the French group in 2000.
In its most recent annual report. BAT said, “The committee has given careful consideration to director transitions to ensure orderly board succession and has prioritized effective succession planning for the executive and the finance director which takes effect during 2019.
In the forthcoming year, the committee will be focused on succession planning for the chairman and will have close regard to the requirements of the new corporate governance code.”