British American Tobacco plc (LON:BATS) has advised that Soraya Benchikh has been appointed to the role of Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director and will join the BAT p.l.c. and Management Boards from 1 May 2024. She will succeed Javed Iqbal, who will continue to serve as interim Finance Director until 30 April 2024.
Soraya has been President, Europe at Diageo plc since January 2023, having joined Diageo in July 2020 as Managing Director for Northern Europe. Soraya previously spent 20 years at BAT where she served as President of BAT France, Area Director for East and Southern Africa, and Regional Finance Director for Europe. Earlier in her career, Soraya worked in finance roles at General Electric and Gillette.
Luc Jobin, Chair of the Board, commented:
“I am pleased to welcome Soraya as Chief Financial Officer, and to the Board. She brings a wealth of leadership experience and commercial acumen from across both finance and commercial roles. Soraya’s excellent track record in different geographies and in depth understanding of the sector make her ideally suited for the role. On behalf of the whole Board I would like to welcome Soraya and am confident that her leadership will accelerate our strategy to build A Better Tomorrow.”
Tadeu Marroco, British American Tobacco Chief Executive, commented:
“I am delighted to welcome Soraya to the Management Board as our new Chief Financial Officer. Her extensive senior leadership and financial experience from a range of international fast moving consumer goods companies represents a great addition to our leadership team. I am grateful to Javed for his continued contribution as interim Finance Director, in addition to his ongoing role as Director, Digital and Information.
Following the recent appointment of Dr Cora Koppe-Stahrenberg as Chief People Officer, Soraya’s appointment is also a further important step towards building a modern organisation. I very much look forward to working with Soraya as we continue our transformation.”
Soraya Benchikh commented:
“I am excited to re-join the leadership of BAT as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director, and share their passion for the transformation strategy. I am looking forward to working with my new colleagues, the leadership team, Tadeu and the Board, and leverage my recent experience within broader FMCG to provide an external lens and support their efforts to accelerate BAT’s strategy to build A Better Tomorrow.”
Remuneration
Soraya Benchikh will be appointed with a base salary of £800,000 per annum. All other elements of her remuneration will be consistent with the terms of the Directors’ Remuneration Policy approved by shareholders at the AGM in April 2022. Further details will be set out in the 2023 Directors’ Remuneration Report.
Replacement awards will be made covering the value of lost short and long-term incentive awards in order to facilitate recruitment, which are in line with the Director’s Remuneration Policy. Replacement awards will be made subject to malus and clawback provisions.
