Altria CEO Steps Down After Being Diagnosed With Covid-19

Howard Willard, the chief executive of Altria Group, has stepped down from the Marlboro maker after two rocky years on the job that resulted in big losses on an investment in Juul Labs.

Mr. Willard, who made a US$12.8 billion investment in the e-cigarette startup in 2018, had temporarily stepped aside in March as CEO after being diagnosed with Covid-19, reported the Wall Street Journal. 

The 56-year-old’s exit comes amid pressure from investors over the Juul investment and weeks after the US government filed an antitrust suit against Altria to unwind the deal. Altria shares, down about 30% over the past year, rose 2% in Friday, April 17, trading.

He was replaced this week by finance chief Billy Gifford. Mr. Gifford had been named acting CEO in March after his boss became ill. Mr. Willard is now recovering, the company stated. 

In an interview in March, Mr. Gifford said the company was looking back at consumer behavior during the last recession as a guide for how the tobacco industry might be affected by the pandemic. 

“People wanted to continue to smoke,” he said. “They wanted to be able to go about their normal daily patterns.”

He said supermarkets and convenience stores, where many people buy their cigarettes, have largely remained open. But he expected the crisis to slow down the rollout of IQOS, a heated tobacco device that Altria launched in the US last year, because the product is sold in stand-alone stores where the sales staff coach consumers, one-on-one, on how to use it.

Full Content: Wall Street Journal

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.