British American Tobacco - British American Tobacco

Luciano Comin

Chief Marketing Officer

When I joined BAT as a Management Trainee in Argentina in 1992, I was attracted by the opportunity to work for a multi-national company and being able to travel and experience different cultures. And that has certainly been the reality in the decades since, as I have been fortunate in my career to gain broad experience in a wide range of roles in a variety of locations.

It was a great honour to be appointed as Marketing Director, Combustibles & New Categories on 1 July 2023. My role plays a critical part in the Group’s transformation journey – to drive a step change in New Categories by building strong global brands, while generating value through combustibles to fuel the growth of New Categories.

Prior to this I was Director, Combustibles, and before that, Regional Director, Americas and Sub-Saharan Africa (AmSSA) – my first Management Board position. This came after I’d had roles including Marketing Director in Venezuela and General Manager of BAT Mexico. I was also Regional Head of Marketing for Western Europe and then, before joining the Board, Regional Head of Marketing for AmSSA.

It may sound like a bit of a cliché, but BAT is like a family and anywhere you go with the company, be it Colombia, Malaysia, Nigeria or elsewhere, the people share a common culture.

The diversity of experience I’ve had includes leading BAT businesses in countries where we have been very successful and some others where we have faced some tough challenges, such as reducing illicit trade which is a priority across the region.

This experience has definitely helped to make me a better leader because you become more flexible and learn how to adapt your leadership to the requirements of the environment that you find yourself in.

I’m a big believer in freedom through responsibility – one of BAT’s core values. It’s important to have a team around you that you trust and, while giving clear direction, you also empower people by giving them the necessary freedom and space to deliver.

A Better Tomorrow™

Our vision to build A Better Tomorrow™ offers a very exciting opportunity for BAT. We have made great progress in a relatively short space of time but there still is more to do.

We have a clear priority at Management Board level: to accelerate our New Categories growth through building new capabilities, funded by value from combustibles. This will enable us to deliver today and continue our transformation.

By doing this sustainably, we will be able to deliver this transformation even more quickly. And that is something that is hugely exciting to me.

Nationality: Italian/Argentinian

Career to date

1992: Joins BAT in Argentina as a Management Trainee, gaining experience in sales and marketing roles
1996: Moves to Cuba as Brand Manager
1997: Becomes a brand manager at Souza Cruz in Brazil
1999: Returns to Argentina as Group Brand Manager for International Brands
2001: Moves to the Group’s UK headquarters as International Brand Manager
2004: Appointed Head of Brands in Malaysia
2005: Becomes Marketing Director for BAT’s business in Venezuela and then takes up the same role in Mexico in 2007
2011: Appointed General Manager of BAT Mexico
2014: Moves to first senior regional role as Regional Marketing Manager for Western Europe
2017: Becomes Regional Head of Marketing for AmSSA
2019: Appointed to the Management Board as Regional Director, AmSSA
2023: Takes up role as Director, Combustibles
2023: Takes up role as Director, Combustibles & New Categories
2024: Appointed Chief Marketing Officer

Education

Business Administration degree at Universidad Católica, Buenos Aires, Argentina
MBA at University of CEMA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Personal interests

I love to spend time with my wife and family and, even though my children are growing up, we make sure we have lunch together every Sunday. Travelling is a big passion too. I love sport and my wife is an art dealer, so we spend a lot of time visiting places all over the world, finding excuses to visit art exhibitions or sports events. When time allows, I like to read, especially books on history.