Laurent Meffre, who has been managing director of West Indian Tobacco Company Ltd (WITCO) for the past two years, will be stepping down on September 30 to pursue another opportunity within the British American Tobacco (BAT) Group.
In an interview with the Express yesterday, WITCO’s external relations manager Gervon Abraham said this move is in keeping with the business-as-usual process within the BAT Group (of which WITCO is a member), for rotation of talent.
In contemplating upon how and where, as a people, we appear to have lost direction in our quest for Nationhood,
He said Glynn brings 20 years of international management experience in trade, marketing and distribution.
The position Meffre, a French national, will be assuming is within the Americas and Sub-Saharan African region of the BAT Group, Abraham added.
In the two years Meffre has been with the tobacco company, Abraham said he was able to steer the company through the challenges it faced during the pandemic while at the same time overseeing over TT$85 million in investment including the transformation of its brand portfolio into a modern and globally competitive one.
“His tenure will be punctuated by the company’s continued support for the Government and national economic recovery during the period characterised by a push for increased exports for products made in Trinidad and Tobago.
“Over the last two years, the Company was able to sustain its presence as the première supplier of best-in-class tobacco products for the Caribbean region and maintain its sustainability and self-sufficiency as a net generator of foreign exchange,” Abraham said.
“During the period, there was a notable increase in sensitisation of the negative effects of the illicit trade in Tobacco products. The Company also feels a great sense of pride in the fact that during his tenure, which spanned the pandemic, there were no negative effects on employee status or benefits,” Abraham added.
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