Our Management

Tom McCoy was appointed Chief Operating Officer in October 2005, responsible for markets, factories and Research & Development.

He started his career in 1973 with Procter & Gamble as a marketing trainee, and was later promoted to Marketing Director for Puerto Rico and Mexico. In 1982, he joined Bristol – Myers as Director for Consumer Business in Central America.

He joined R.J. Reynolds in 1985 as Marketing Director, responsible for the Central American Region. He was promoted to Regional Vice President, successively covering Central America, South America and Southern Europe.

In 1994, he became Senior Vice President, in charge of the RJ Reynolds International Corporate Affairs and New Technology brands, based in Winston-Salem. The following year, he was appointed Senior Vice president for RJR International Marketing, Sales and Distribution in Geneva.

In 1996, he became President of the Asia-Pacific region and in 2000, President of the CIS & Baltics, Middle East, Africa and Worldwide Duty Free region.

Tom McCoy, an American national, holds a B.A. Degree from Loyola University, Baltimore.

Martin Braddock was appointed Regional President CIS, Romania and Adriatica region in January 2006.

He started his career with Price Waterhouse UK in 1986, and qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1989, while working in Eastern Europe.

In 1993, he joined R.J. Reynolds International in Geneva working in the East and Central Europe region. He was then promoted through a number of finance positions to become Chief Financial Officer of JTI in 2002.

Martin Braddock, a British national, holds a Law Degree from the University of Hull in England.

Stefan Fitz was appointed Regional President Asia Pacific in September 2010, following three years as Regional President, Central Europe.

He started his career working for Henkel Austria in 1992 before joining Austria Tabak in 1995 as Managing Director of the International Business and was promoted in 1999 General Manager, Tobacco Division.

Being a key driver of the integration of Austria Tabak into Gallaher, he was appointed Managing Director Central Europe for Gallaher in 2001.

An Austrian national, Stefan Fitz graduated from the Vienna Business University.

Paul Neumann was appointed Senior Vice President Global Leaf in October 2009.

He started his career with RJR Macdonald Inc. in Toronto as Director of Finance in 1987, and was later promoted to Regional Vice President Finance & Chief Financial Officer for the Americas. In 1994 he relocated to Geneva in the same role for the C.I.S and Baltics Region. Appointed Vice-President, CFO, Global Supply Chain in 1999, he subsequently held the role of Vice President Finance for the European Region in 2006. Before his current assignment he was appointed Vice President Global Leaf Procurement in 2007.

Paul Neumann a Canadian national holds an Honours Bachelor of Commerce degree from Carleton University. He is a Chartered Accountant and Certified Management Accountant in the Ontario Institutes.

Howard Parks was appointed Senior Vice President of Consumer and Trade Marketing in September 2010.

Howard began his career in 1982 at R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in Research &. Development, and moved to his first marketing position in 1984. In 1991, he assumed his first international position as Marketing Director for Puerto-Rico, Dominican Republic and Mexico.

After holding various positions in marketing, he relocated to Geneva in 1995, and in January 1998 he took over the lead of the Research and Development function. From 2000 to 2005, he held various senior positions in the Consumer and Trade Marketing function and was then appointed as the Regional Consumer & Trade Marketing lead for the Europe Region, followed by the Western & Southern Europe/Baltics Region. Before his current assignment, he was the Chief Brand Officer.

Howard Parks, of American origin, studied at the Fuqua School of Business (Duke University) where he obtained a Master's degree in Business Administration, in addition to a Bachelor of Science degree from Washington and Lee University.

Fadoul Pekhazis was appointed Regional President Middle East, Near East and Africa in October 2005.

In April 2007, Turkey was added to his responsibility, as well as World Wide Duty Free in January 2008.

He started his career in 1978 with Eastman Kodak in the Middle East and joined R.J. Reynolds in 1988, where he held various marketing and sales positions in that same geographical area.

Promoted as Regional Vice President in 1998, his responsibilities were extended to North and West Africa, and from 2004, Iran.

Fadoul Pekhazis, a Greek and Lebanese national, holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from the American University of Beirut, Lebanon.

Eddy Pirard was appointed Regional President Western Europe in January 2010.

He began his career in consumer marketing at Procter & Gamble in 1986. In 1991, he joined McKinsey & Co, where he specialized in fast moving consumer goods and worked across a wide range of disciplines in both Europe and the USA.

He joined Gallaher in January 1998 as head of Business Development. He left the company after a few years to start-up an entrepreneurial venture in the e-procurement area. He re-joined the Group in October 2002 to create and lead the cigar division. And as of October 2004, he was appointed managing director, Other Tobacco Products (OTP) division. Following the acquisition of Gallaher in 2007, he was appointed President UK and Ireland region, in April 2007.

Eddy Pirard, a Belgian national, holds a Business degree from HEC in Belgium and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard.

Michel Poirier was appointed Regional President Americas in October 2005.

His career started with Procter & Gamble, where he held a series of sales positions with increasing responsibility. And before joining JTI-Macdonald Corp., he was Vice President Sales and Marketing with Johnson & Johnson and Revlon Canada Inc.

He joined JTI in 1998 as Vice President of Sales for our Canadian operation. He became President and Chief Executive Officer of JTI-Macdonald Corp. in January 2000. His position was extended to Chairman of the board in April, 2002.

Michel Poirier is a Canadian national.

Bill Schulz was appointed Senior Vice President, leading JTI's Global Supply Chain in October 2005.

He started his career working with General Motors for four years before joining RJR in 1981. He was then promoted through a number of increasing managerial positions in human resources, customer service, manufacturing and general management in the USA, Puerto Rico, East Africa, Central Asia and China before taking up his current position.

Bill Schulz, an American national, graduated from N.C. State University in 1976 with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and a Master of Business Administration from Wake Forest University in 1978.

Takehisa Shibayama was appointed Senior Vice President Research and Development in July 2007.

He started his career in 1989 with Japan Tobacco Inc. He first held a variety of manufacturing positions with JT, then moved into R&D and Product Development before relocating to Geneva in December 2002, leading R&D for JTI's Global Flagship Brands.

Takehisa Shibayama, a Japanese national, graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tokyo.

Vassilis Vovos was appointed Regional President Central Europe in September 2010.

Vassilis, a Greek national, started his career working for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Greece in 1991 where he held various positions in Brand Marketing. He was appointed Marketing Director in 1995. In 1997, he moved to R.J. Reynolds International, in Paris, and became Senior Director, and then VP Marketing & Strategic Planning for the Southern Europe & Northern Africa Region. After the acquisition of R.J. Reynolds by Japan Tobacco Inc. in 1999, he joined the JTI Geneva headquarters as VP Marketing & Sales Europe until he was appointed Vice-President and Deputy General Manager for France in January 2001. Since April 2002 he was General Manager France.

Vassilis Vovos holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the Thessalonica Polytechnic School in Greece, and a MBA from the University of Illinois in Chicago.

Mutsuo Iwai joined Japan Tobacco Inc. in 1983. He held a number of positions before being appointed Vice President of the Corporate Planning Division in Tokyo in 2003.

From here, he moved into Corporate Strategy before eventually joining the Food Business. His experience in this area began in 2005 in the role of Senior Vice President. In 2006 he was appointed Executive Vice President of the Food Business.

Building on his foundations in strategy, Mutsuo held the role of Chief Strategy Officer from 2008 to 2011.

He joined JTI in the Geneva Headquarters in 2011 as Executive Vice President and Deputy CEO, and also serves as a member of the JT Board.

Mutsuo Iwai, a Japanese national born in Osaka, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from the University of Tokyo.

Paul Bourassa was appointed Senior Vice President Legal, Regulatory Affairs and Compliance in January 2004.

He began his career in 1986 with the Montreal law firm now known as Borden Ladner Gervais.

He joined R.J. Reynolds International in 1993 in North Carolina as Senior International Counsel and transferred to Geneva in 1996, holding various responsibilities in the Legal Department. He was appointed to the position of General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer in 2002, Chief Legal Officer in 2003, and Head of Corporate Affairs in 2004.

Paul Bourassa, a Canadian and Swiss national, holds degrees in Political Science and in Law from the University of Ottawa.

Roland Kostantos was appointed Senior Vice President Finance, Information Technology and Chief Financial Officer in October 2009.

He joined RJR-Macdonald Inc as a finance supervisor in 1987 and then held a number of positions before being promoted to Vice President Finance & Chief Financial Officer in 1996.

In 1998 he moved to Geneva as Vice President Financial Planning & Analysis and subsequently held various headquarter finance positions including the role of Chief Financial Officer for the Europe Region in 2002. Prior to his current assignment he was appointed in 2006 to the position of Vice President Finance, Corporate Controller.

Roland Kostantos earned his Chartered Accountant designation in 1985 while articling with the accounting and audit service firm of Clarkson Gordon (now Ernst & Young).

Roland Kostantos, a Canadian and Greek national, holds an Honors Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University (1980).

Jörg Schappei was appointed Senior Vice President Human Resources in 2001.

He joined R.J. Reynolds International in 1982 as Legal Counsel in Germany. He then moved to Human Resources in 1988 where he held various positions including those of Vice President Human Resources Germany, Vice President Human Resources Northern Europe and Vice President Human Resources Europe.

In addition to his responsibilities, he held the position of President and Chairman of the Employer's Association for the German Cigarette Industry from 1996 to 2000, focusing on trade union, works council relations and collective agreement negotiations.

Jörg Schappei is a German national and a Doctor of Law. He holds a Master of Law in European Management and Industrial Relations as well as an MBA in General Management.

Frits Vranken was appointed to the Executive Committee in June 2006, where he assumed ever increasing responsibilities resulting in his current position as Senior Vice President Business Development & Corporate Communications.

He started his career working for Coopers & Lybrand in The Netherlands and Belgium. Subsequently he joined Allied Domecq as Senior Tax Manager for continental Europe, prior to joining RJRI in 1995 to lead the Business Development department.

An international tax lawyer and a Dutch national, Frits Vranken graduated from Leiden University in The Netherlands in 1985 and completed the Advanced Management Program at INSEAD.