Lorillard - president and CEO Orlowsky to be replaced after December 31, 2010.

November 22, 2009 - Cigarette maker Lorillard Inc. has begun seeking a successor to Chief Executive Martin L. Orlowsky, whose contract expires next year, the company said in a regulatory filing Thursday, November 19th. The maker of Newport menthol cigarettes, based in Greensboro, N.C., told the Securities and Exchange Commission that said its board of directors plans to replace Orlowsky after his contract expires Dec. 31, 2010.

This is right around the time that the FDA's Tobacco Product Advisory Committee reports on if menthol cigarettes should be removed from the U.S. cigarette market.

Orlowsky, 67, has served as president and chief executive officer since January 1999 and became chairman of the board in January 2001. Previously, he served as President and Chief Operating Officer and prior to this position he was Executive Vice President, Marketing and Sales. He has been with Lorillard since 1990.

Lorillard, the oldest continuously operating U.S. tobacco company, spun off from Loews Corp. in 2008.

A few interesting comments:

MENTHOL CATEGORY:
QUESTION: Have products from Altria and Reynolds like Marlboro Blend 54 and Camel Crush made any real difference to the menthol category as a whole?

RESPONSE: No, and I will say that I don't think Camel Crush is a menthol product to begin with. So I wouldn't attribute any impact or effect from the Camel side. 54, well, obviously is a pure menthol product. As I said earlier, I don't think that it had an appreciable impact in the marketplace.

(On The Call: Lorillard CEO Martin Orlowsky, 10/26/2009)

SNUS:
Lorillard Tobacco Q1 2009 Conference Call - Marty Orlowsky (Chairman, President and CEO of Lorillard) was asked to comment on their smokeless program.

Orlowsky: Well, I think we're experiencing a similar pattern as some of our competition as marketing or test marketing [SNUS] products. It's a relatively low level of interest that's being expressed by the consumers and we're just monitoring the situation as we move forward. I really don't have anything very specific to report. There have been no major changes to the consumer perceptions of that product.

(Lorillard Inc. Q1 2009 Earnings Call Transcript)

Swedish Match makes a SNUS product called Triumph for Lorillard. The Lorillard salesman tells us that Triumph SNUS sales have gone poorly and it doesn't cost Lorillard anything to sell this pouch tobacco. Triumph SNUS..

Image - Martin L. Orlowsky, click to enlarge..