3rd UPDATE: BAT Names Durante To Succeed Adams As CEO

24th Jun 2010 12:57

(Adds background.) By Jonathan Buck and Michael Carolan Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--British American Tobacco PLC (BATS.LN) Thursday said its Chief Executive Paul Adams would retire in February next year, to be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Nicandro Durante. Durante, 53 years old, an Italian who grew up in Brazil, joined BAT in 1981 and has held senior roles in Africa and Middle East, Brazil, the U.K. and Hong Kong. He will become chief executive-designate from Sept. 1 in preparation for promotion to the top job. "It is an honor to succeed Paul and I am confident that our proven strategy, focused on growth, productivity, responsibility and developing a winning organization, will continue to serve shareholders very well," Durante said in a statement. Evolution analyst Chas Manso described the appointment as "a pretty logical succession." He doesn't expect any major changes to BAT's successful strategy once Durante takes the helm. Manso added that in Durante's dealings with analysts, he had "come across very well." Durante became chief operating officer two years ago and has become increasingly visible to both investors and the media in recent months. Internal appointments are common in the tobacco sector. Alison Cooper, who stepped up to become chief executive of rival Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (IMT.LN) in May, had also served as chief operating officer before replacing Gareth Davis on his retirement. BAT's outgoing CEO Adams, meanwhile, joined the company from PepsiCo Inc (PEP) in 1991 and didn't step up to the CEO role until January 2004. A spokeswoman for BAT said Adams, 57, planned to spend some time with his family after 36 years of work. She said he had no plans for the future beyond some traveling, but added that future board appointments couldn't be ruled out. "I feel privileged to have led such a strong management team but this is the right time to make a change, both for me and for the company," said Adams in a statement. He is well respected in the industry, having driven a consistently good performance from BAT through both good economic times and bad. He has also guided BAT's share price to a near-threefold increase since taking control of the group. By 1156 GMT, the company's shares were down 18 pence, or 0.8%, at 2135 pence in a lower London market. John Daly, 53, regional director of the Asia Pacific region, will succeed Durante as chief operating officer. He will be replaced as head of the Asia Pacific region by director for Eastern Europe David Fell, 49, who, in turn, will be succeeded by Des Naughton, 43, currently regional head of marketing for Africa and Middle East. Finance director Ben Stevens, 50, will take on the additional responsibility of chief information officer. BAT also announced the appointment of Kieran Poynter as non-executive director with effect from July 1. Poynter was formerly chairman and senior partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. BAT is the world's second largest global tobacco group behind Philip Morris Inc. (PM), and has a market capitalization of around GBP43 billion. It owns global cigarette brands such as Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall, and competes with smaller London-based rival Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (IMT.LN). BAT's 2009 net profit was GBP2.71 billion on sales of GBP14.21 billion. It cut GBP239 million of costs out of its business last year and in 2008 suspended its share buyback program to fund a number of acquisitions. -By Jonathan Buck, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)207 842 9237; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 24, 2010 07:57 ET (11:57 GMT)