British American Tobacco (BAT) has named Dragos Constantinescu as its chief financial officer, returning a former senior executive to the tobacco group. Constantinescu, who led Asahi Europe & International, is scheduled to assume the finance chief role on September 1.
Constantinescu previously spent 16 years at BAT before moving to the brewing group. During that earlier period he occupied a number of senior finance and general management positions, including serving as general manager for Central Europe North and as finance director and general manager for BAT Poland.
He will replace Javed Iqbal, who has been acting as interim finance chief since August of last year following an abrupt departure of BAT's previous finance head. The company did not supply additional detail about the earlier exit in the material provided.
BAT is pursuing a business transformation that reduces its reliance on traditional cigarettes and expands its portfolio of smokeless products. The company has set explicit goals tied to that strategic shift - targeting 50 million consumers of its smokeless alternatives by 2030 and aiming for those products to account for 50% of group revenue by 2035.
The appointment reunites BAT with an executive who has both finance and general management experience across the markets where BAT operates. The return of a long-tenured former executive to the finance leadership role comes at a moment when the company has articulated quantified milestones for its non-combustible product strategy.
Those milestones form a clear performance framework for the business as it seeks to rebalance its product mix and revenue streams over the coming decade. The finance chief will play a central role in monitoring progress versus those targets and in overseeing the financial implications of the group's transition away from combustible cigarettes.
Constantinescu's prior BAT roles and his recent responsibilities at Asahi suggest familiarity with operational and financial oversight in varied European markets. He joins BAT as the company continues to outline measurable objectives for consumer adoption and revenue contribution from smokeless offerings.
Summary: Dragos Constantinescu will take up the CFO role at British American Tobacco on September 1, returning after 16 years with the company and following a period as chief of Asahi Europe & International. He replaces interim finance chief Javed Iqbal. BAT is targeting 50 million smokeless-product consumers by 2030 and wants those products to deliver 50% of group revenue by 2035.