By Frank Connelly and Sabah Meddings, Bloomberg.
British American Tobacco Plc chief financial officer Soraya Benchikh is stepping down with immediate effect after a little more than a year in the role.
Javed Iqbal, currently director, digital and information, will take up the CFO role on an interim basis, BAT said in a statement Tuesday.
Benchikh will remain available to support the transition until the end of the year.
In July, the maker of Dunhill and Lucky Strike cigarettes said revenue would come in at the top end of its forecast range this year after a jump in the number of users of its smokeless products, and a strong performance in the US including for its nicotine pouch brand, Velo.
Benchikh returned to BAT in May 2024 from Diageo Plc, where she was most recently president for Europe.
Born in Lebanon, she had formerly worked at the tobacco company for 20 years in roles across finance in the Middle East and Africa, joining the company just before its merger with Rothmans.
She joined after a shakeup made by CEO Tadeu Marroco, who replaced several business heads in a bid to jumpstart the company’s sluggish performance back then. Shares in BAT have climbed about 50% since the beginning of the year.