Reynolds American Says Debra Crew To Be COO Of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco

(RTTNews) - Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) Friday reported several executive changes at both RAI and its largest subsidiary, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., effective October 1.

Debra Crew, currently president and chief commercial officer of R.J. Reynolds, will become president and chief operating officer of the company. She will assume management responsibility for the company's manufacturing operations and research and development functions, apart from her ongoing responsibility for the consumer and trade marketing functions.

Nancy Hawley, currently senior vice president of operations at R.J. Reynolds, will be promoted to executive vice president of operations for the company.

Daniel Herko, currently senior vice president of research and development for R.J. Reynolds, will be promoted to executive vice president of research and development for the company.

Herko will also become an executive vice president of RAI Services Company, and will be responsible for managing regulatory oversight for RAI's subsidiaries.

When Crew assumes her new responsibilities, Jeffery Gentry, currently R.J. Reynolds' executive vice president of operations and chief scientific officer, will move to a project role overseeing the ongoing integration of Lorillard operations into subsidiaries of RAI. He plans to retire in the first half of 2016.

Thomas Adams, who served as RAI's executive vice president and chief financial officer from 2008 to March 2015, and has been overseeing the integration of Lorillard operations, now plans to retire on October 1 when Jeffery Gentry assumes responsibility for overseeing the integration.