British American Tobacco names Meldrum as head of U.S. unit

(Reuters) – British American Tobacco on Wednesday named Guy Meldrum, the regional director of its Asia-Pacific and Middle East business, as the new head of its U.S. business, Reynolds American.

Meldrum will succeed Ricardo Oberlander, who became president of Newport cigarette maker Reynolds American after it was acquired by BAT in 2017 for $49 billion. (https://reut.rs/3kcleZH)

Meldrum’s appointment is effective Sept. 1 2020. The U.S. unit is the biggest contributor to BAT’s overall profits.

(Reporting by Siddharth Cavale in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)