UPDATE: BAT Names Durante To Succeed Adams As CEO

24th Jun 2010 08:08

(Adds detail.) By Jonathan Buck Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--British American Tobacco PLC (BATS.LN) Thursday said Nicandro Durante would succeed Paul Adams as chief executive when he retires at the end of February 2011. Durante, 53 years old, who currently is chief operating officer, will become chief executive-designate from Sept. 1 in preparation for his new promotion to the top job. "The board is naturally delighted to have been able to choose such a strong and experienced internal candidate as chief executive and I am confident that Nicandro will become a worthy successor to Paul," said Chairman Richard Burrows in a statement. Durante, 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. "It is an honour 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," he said in a statement. Adams, who will be 57 on retirement, joined BAT in 1991 and has been chief executive since January 2004. "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," he said. 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. At 0702 GMT, the company's shares traded down 18 pence, or 0.8%, at 2135 pence in a broadly higher FTSE 100. They have risen 10% in value since the start of the year. -By Jonathan Buck, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)207 842 9237; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 24, 2010 03:08 ET (07:08 GMT)