November 29, 2017 - 3:40 AM
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - The top executive of tobacco giant Reynolds American Inc. will step down after one year in the role.
The Winston-Salem Journal reports that Reynolds' parent company, British American Tobacco PLC, said Tuesday that 46-year-old Debra Crew will depart as CEO at year's end, thus removing legacy Reynolds management. She'll be replaced by Ricardo Oberlander, a Reynolds board member who currently serves as BAT's regional director for the Americas.
Reynolds spokesman David Howard called the management change "purely a personal decision" by Crew, who he said was pursuing other opportunities.
Crew had been with Reynolds since 2014, and assumed the helm of the North Carolina-based company in January. BAT CEO Nicandro Durante had praised her management in July, after BAT acquired the 57.8 per cent of Reynolds it did not already own.
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Information from: Winston-Salem Journal, http://www.journalnow.com
News from © The Associated Press, 2017