FORMER BANK of Ireland governor Richard Burrows has been appointed chairman of British American Tobacco (BAT), the world’s second-largest cigarette maker.
Mr Burrows (63) will join the board on September 1st and become chairman on November 1st, replacing outgoing chairman Jan du Plessis, the London-based owner of the Kent and Pall Mall brands said in a statement. Mr du Plessis is stepping down on November 1st to take on the same role at mining company Rio Tinto.
Mr Burrows stepped down as governor (chairman) of Bank of Ireland in July at the bank’s annual meeting and apologised to shareholders for the collapse in the share price and the loss of dividends. Shares in the bank plummeted from over €18.60 in February 2007 to just 20 cent in March this year.
Nick Scheele, BAT’s senior independent director, said Mr Burrows’s career in the worldwide consumer goods sector made him an “excellent choice”, as did his “proven ability to work with a team from various cultures and countries”. Mr Burrows was previously chief executive of Irish Distillers from 1978 to 2000 and co-chief executive of French spirits group Pernod Ricard from 2000 to 2005, based in Paris.
He is also on the boards of Danish brewer Carlsberg and pest control and parcel delivery firm Rentokil Initial.
In his new role he can expect to earn around the £620,000 a year that the board is paying Mr du Plessis. The current chairman also has use of a driver and private medical and personal accident insurance.
The terms compare favourably with Bank of Ireland where Mr Burrows last year received €503,000, down from €512,000 a year earlier.
Sector analysts welcomed his branding and marketing experience. They said that, as BAT is currently performing well and has a strong management team under chief executive Paul Adams, Mr Burrows’s arrival was unlikely to herald any major shift in strategy, while his time at Bank of Ireland was likely to be glossed over.
In July BAT beat forecasts with a 25 per cent rise in first-half earnings and predicted strong full-year growth.
Mr Burrows’s decision to accept the position was criticised by Ash Ireland, the anti-smoking lobby group.
Ash Ireland chairwoman Dr Angie Brown highlighted Mr Burrows’s links with sailing and said she was surprised that “such an esteemed figure” had decided to link up with the tobacco industry.
“Mr Burrows will be well aware that millions of people die from the effects of smoking around the world each year and many of these cigarettes are developed and manufactured by BAT,” she said. – (Additional reporting Bloomberg/Reuters)
