Tadeu Marroco

Tadeu Marroco became CEO of British American Tobacco in May 2024, taking charge of the world's second-largest tobacco company by revenue (behind Philip Morris International). BAT's combustible portfolio includes iconic brands like Dunhill, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, and Kent, while its "New Categories" smoke-free products span Vuse (the world's leading vaping brand by value share), Glo (heated tobacco), and Velo (modern oral nicotine pouches). The tobacco industry is in the midst of its most fundamental transformation: the structural decline of cigarette volumes as smokers switch to reduced-risk alternatives and governments tighten regulation. BAT's challenge is managing this decline in its profitable combustible business while growing the new categories portfolio quickly enough to offset the revenue and profit erosion. The company wrote down $31.5 billion in 2023 primarily related to US cigarette brands. Marroco's key decisions involve new categories investment pace, US market strategy (the most important and most regulated market), geographic portfolio management, cost reduction to protect margins, and dividend sustainability — the high dividend yield is a key attraction for income investors.