British American Tobacco - British American Tobacco

Fred Monteiro

Regional Director, Americas & Europe

It was a great honour to be appointed to BAT’s Management Board on 1 April 2023, as Regional Director for the Americas & Europe (AME).

This is a region with huge potential as we continue to accelerate our New Category ambitions and grow our powerful brands.

Prior to joining the Management Board I was Area Director for Central Europe South, based in Romania. It was a source of huge pride to lead the business transformation across the area’s seven markets in my two years in that role.

BAT’s journey to become a category-led enterprise is something that I am very passionate about. I have been Marketing Director for our Next Generation Products business from 2015-2019, when we were just getting started with our New Categories business. Over that period, I oversaw the development of our then-vapour brand Vype, which of course went on to become Vuse, and our flagship glo tobacco heating product brand.

I have been fortunate to have an international career with BAT, starting off in my native Brazil working for our Souza Cruz business in a variety of marketing roles. Over the first ten years of my BAT career, I have worked in Brazil, Cuba, Venezuela, and Eastern Europe. I eventually left BAT to join the start-up team behind what is today the largest e-commerce operation in Brazil. After that I joined the largest media group in Brazil, the Globo Group, to help develop what quickly became the largest internet media portal in the country.

A Better Tomorrow™

A Better Tomorrow™ is so much more than just the encapsulation of our strategy. It is a rallying cry for each one of us at BAT to seek to do our best, every day, to have a positive impact in the lives of our consumers, our colleagues, our stakeholders, and society at large. It is a simple, inspiring, galvanizing force driving every decision we make in the business.

I re-joined BAT in 2008 which led to me moving to BAT Japan as Marketing VP in 2009, and the General Manager in 2011. This was a hugely rewarding role in a market that is so crucial to BAT’s A Better Tomorrow™ journey.

BAT’s ongoing digital transformation is another topic close to my heart as we use data and analytics and enhanced digital capabilities to drive our business forward. Earlier In my career, I helped set up an online start-up in Brazil, which became the largest e-commerce operation in Latin America. This experience has proved invaluable throughout my time with BAT, especially in my role as Marketing Director for our then Europe and North Africa (ENA) region. In this role I led ENA’s marketing transformation as we built a strong New Categories business with digital at its core.

Over my extensive career in BAT and other companies I have developed a broad understanding of various market segments, business models and cultural/geographical nuances. This has shaped in me a leadership style that is very results-oriented, with a keen passion for transformation and change leading to fast growth. I trust and empower my team to make decisions quickly, move fast and take calculated risks in pursuit of strategic goals. There is a very natural fit between my personal leadership style and the BAT Ethos that is at the centre of our culture.

I genuinely love working for BAT, so much so that I use to say that I have joined it twice. This is a thriving organization; with a vibrant winning culture and the best team one could hope to have. Our Better Tomorrow strategy is inspiring and puts our consumers at the heart of everything we do. I could not have asked for a better environment in which to continue to develop myself and my team, as we continue to transform BAT for the future.

Nationality: Brazilian

Career to date

1987: Join’s BAT’s Brazilian business as Head of Brands and over the next 12 years his career progression sees him in roles including Export & International Business Manager; Marketing Intelligence Manager; Group Brand Manager and a variety of regional sales & distribution management roles.
2000: Begins stint away from BAT, joining Americanas.com as Marketing & Commercial Director (Multi-Channel Strategies)
2001: Moves to globo.com as Marketing & Product Innovation Director
2008: Rejoins BAT as Regional Head of Brands for The Americas
2009: Takes up first international role, as Vice President of Marketing for BAT Japan
2011: Becomes General Manager of BAT Japan
2015: Moves to London as Marketing Director for BAT’s Next Generation Products business
2019: Stays in London as Regional Head of Marketing for Europe & North Africa
2021: Moves to Romania as Area Director for Central Europe South
2023: Joins the Management Board at BAT as Regional Director for the Americas & Europe.

Education

Harvard Business School, Executive Education, Leading Product Innovation
University of Michigan, Advanced Executive Programme
Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro, BA, Marketing & Advertising
University of Virginia Darden School of Business, Marketing & Advertising
University of Virginia, Darden School of Business, Advanced Management Program
The Wharton School, Strategic Marketing Management
Hult Ashridge, Marketing Management Programme

Personal interests

I am married and have a teenage daughter. I enjoy travelling with my family, jogging, Pilates, scuba diving and exploring museums and art galleries. I try to make time to visit my hometown of Rio de Janeiro once or twice a year to connect with family and friends, and have a splash at the beach in Ipanema, where I spent my childhood and adolescence.