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 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 President Central Europe and Nordic region in April 2007.

In January 2010 Greece/Cyprus/Malta and the Baltic countries were added to his responsibilities and the region renamed “Central Europe”.

He started his career working for Henkel Austria in 1993 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.

Hans-Gerd Hesse was appointed President Asia Pacific region in April 2007.

He started his career in 1985, with IMW-Köln, a Cologne-based marketing research agency.  He then joined RJ Reynolds in 1988 occupying various Research and Marketing positions in Germany, Switzerland and Czech Republic. In 1996, he was appointed General Manager Hungary and in 1998, Vice President Marketing for the CIS & Baltic region.

In 1999, he became General Manager Singapore, Philippines and Australasia for JTI, and in 2002 Vice President & General Manager China. In 2003, he was appointed Vice President Corporate Strategy, based in JTI's headquarters in Geneva.

A German national, Hans-Gerd Hesse graduated from the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences, University of Cologne, with a Diploma in Business Administration.

Fadoul Pekhazis was appointed President Middle East, Near East and Africa region 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 President Western Europe region 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 President America region in October 2005.

His career started with Proctor & 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 & 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.

Yasushi Shingai joined Japan Tobacco Inc. in 1980. After holding positions in manufacturing and corporate planning, he was appointed Deputy Director of JT's New York office in 1989 and President of JT America Inc. in 1990.

He returned to Japan Tobacco Inc. in Tokyo in 1996 to become General Manager of JT's Corporate Planning Division. He was appointed Vice President of the Financial Planning Division in 2001 and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 2004. Shingai-san has been a member of JT's board since 2005.

In June 2006, he moved to JTI in Geneva where he held the role of Executive Vice President in charge of Business Development and Corporate Strategy, and Assistant to the CEO. In January 2008, he was appointed Deputy CEO. Additionally, he held the position of Chief Financial Officer as of January 2008 till September 2009.

Yasushi Shingai, a Japanese national, holds a Master of Engineering and a B.A. in electronic engineering from the University of Kyoto in Japan.

Paul Bourassa was appointed Senior Vice-President Legal, Regulatory Affairs and Compliance in October 2005.

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 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).

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.

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 Employee'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 Senior Vice-President, Business Development in June 2006. In January 2008, his responsibility was expanded to Corporate Strategy.

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. 

Roberto Zanni was appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Brands Officer, Consumer & Trade Marketing in January 2010.

He began his career at Unilever, then joined Kraft General Food in 1978 where he held various management responsibilities which included Vice-President Marketing & Sales Europe (1982), Managing Director Italy (1986) and President South Europe for Jacobs Suchard (1990). He left Kraft in 1994 to become the CEO and President of an important Italian frozen food group.

He joined JTI in 1998 in the Geneva headquarters where he occupied key marketing and sales positions. In 2001, he became Senior Vice President for Marketing and Sales. Prior to his current assignment he was appointed President Europe region in October 2005, and President Western and Southern Europe & Baltics' region in April 2007.

Roberto Zanni, an Italian national, studied at the Bocconi School of Management in Italy where he obtained a Master's degree in Economics and an MBA. He also attended the Advanced Management Program in INSEAD (Fontainebleau) in 1988.