Philip Morris International appointed Jennifer Motles to the position of Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), effective 1 November.
She will succeed current CSO Huub Savelkouls, who will retire after almost three decades of service.
Motles will report into the company’s CFO, Emmanuel Babeau, as the company looks to integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) drivers into business strategy as a way to enhance both the sustainability agendas and financial performance.
“Integrating sustainability and financial strategies is further recognition of our commitment to un-smoking our planet and transforming our company,” said PMI’s CEO, André Calantzopoulos.
“It is a logical next step for us, following our Statement of Purpose adopted by our Board and the introduction of Integrated Reporting earlier this year.”
Motles joined PMI in 2015, when she helped craft PMI’s sustainability strategy, ensuring it was intrinsically linked to the adoption of the company’s vision of delivering a smoke-free future. Since then, she has helped advance PMI’s transformation, honing the company’s sustainability and ESG performance, with a strong focus on shareholder and stakeholder engagement.
“This move outlines that ESG is core to PMI’s performance and success, and further demonstrates PMI’s leadership in sustainability and corporate purpose,” said Babeau.
“Jennifer, with her broad range of international experience and her proven track record in the domain, is the ideal candidate to lead our company’s ambitious sustainability agenda.”
“It is our firm belief that sustainability and business performance do not follow separate paths and narratives. They are fully interrelated and mutually reinforcing and should be organised and presented to all stakeholders in an integrated way.”