Imperial Tobacco Group - chief executive now Mrs. A J Cooper..

Effective from May 13, 2010, Mrs. A J Cooper is appointed Chief Executive in succession to Mr. G Davis, who has retired from the board. The board has agreed that Mr. Davis will remain an employee of the company until June 4, 2010 to allow him to complete certain external commitments on behalf of the company.

Imperial is the world's fourth largest international tobacco company, Number one in Britain with a market share of approximately 46% and Number 2 in Europe.

Directly related news brief: Imperial Tobacco - CEO Gareth Davis to retire/ delivers strong performance for year..

Alison Cooper, who becomes only the second British woman appointed to run a FTSE 100 company when she takes the reins at Imperial Tobacco, has hit out at proposals for positive discrimination to get more women into Britain's top boardrooms. (Alison Cooper, Imperial Tobacco chief, rails against positive discrimination.

Imperial Tobacco Group manufactures, markets, distributes, and sells various tobacco products in the United Kingdom and internationally. The company’s products include cigarettes, roll your own and pipe tobaccos, cigars, filters, tubes, snuff and snus, and rolling paper products.

Reference: IMPERIAL TOBACCO GROUP PLC, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, 5/17/2010.

A few Imperial Tobacco related news briefs:
India - Barakat Food will import and distribute Imperial's Davidoff Cigarettes..;
Imperial Tobacco Group - Interim Management Statement..;
Imperial Tobacco - CEO Gareth Davis to retire/ delivers strong performance for year..;
Imperial Tobacco acquires rest of Swedish Tobacco Company Skruf Snus AB..;
Britain's Imperial Tobacco Group is selling a number of fine cut and pipe tobacco brands to Philip Morris International (PMI) for EUR 254 million (USD..;
Imperial Tobacco now owns 96.92% of stock in Logista S.A., a Spanish Logistics Company..;
Imperial Tobacco Group to Enhance Joint Venture Altadis Had With Habanos Cigars..;
Imperial Tobacco successfully concludes acquisition of Altadis..;
mperial Tobacco Gets Approval to Sell Brands in U.S..;

Image.. Alison Cooper, chief executive designate at Imperial Tobacco, with outgoing chief Gareth Davis Photograph: Newscast/Imperial Tobacco, click to enlarge..