Jerome Abelman

I was appointed Director, Legal and External Affairs (LEX) and General Counsel in May 2015, having joined the Management Board as Group Corporate and Regulatory Affairs Director in January of the same year.

In my role, I work with my leadership team to identify the strategic priorities which LEX managers should consider depending on their local environment – across areas including legal, compliance, communications, regulation and sustainability – in order to support the delivery of the Group strategy.

My single biggest priority is our ‘Delivery with Integrity’ programme. This programme, led by the Business Conduct and Compliance team within LEX, is about ensuring that everyone at BAT recognises that they are responsible for working to the highest standards of corporate conduct and ethical values at all times, everywhere we operate.

I grew up in New York and attended university in New Orleans, Louisiana. I’m a member of the Bar in New York and the District of Columbia and have had a number of legal roIes in my time with BAT. I was also a member of the Board of Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) from February 2016 until the acquisition of RAI in July 2017.

My first experience of BAT was when I was on secondment from a New York City law firm to London in 2001. Little did I know I’d still be with the company all these years later! I joined BAT full-time in 2002 when I became General Counsel for the Australasian group of companies, based in Sydney.

One of the things that enticed me to BAT was the company’s diversity – of people, backgrounds, cultures and geographies. That diversity remains one of the great things about working here.