Name: Philip Morris CEO: leading the way to help people “unsmoke”
Uploaded: 2020-01-30
Duration: 5 min 56 s
Description: How André Calantzopoulos plans to grow PMI while keeping health concerns top of mind.

Philip Morris CEO: leading the way to help people “unsmoke”

Leadership

CEO Calantzopoulos plans to grow PMI while promoting health.

Philip Morris CEO: helping people “unsmoke”

How André Calantzopoulos plans to grow PMI while keeping health concerns top of mind.

Andre, tell us a little bit about the Philip Morris submission off, creating a smoke free future. You run a tobacco company. So why did you come up with this idea? Our purpose is to do everything we can to replace cigarettes with products that are less harmful. As soon as you've also said that you want to help the world anew smoke. So why don't you just stop selling cigarettes? I don't think if we stop selling cigarettes, the world will stop consuming cigarettes because consumers quite choice they have, they don't find our brands. They either going to buy some competitive brand or they will buy contraband. But I don't think we have public health at all by just as unilaterally, no selling cigarettes. I think what we're doing offering for the people, not otherwise quit better products and putting all our commercial effort putting really our money and our resources where our mouth is. That's the better way to do it, because at the end of the day we replaced cigarettes and we are also gaining a little bit off share because we're the first ones. The margins of these products are as good or even better than cigarettes because sometimes a tax less so it makes financial sense for us is a company. It makes organizational sense because it's very exciting for the organization toe move away from cigarettes and it makes sense for society at the end of the day. So I think it's more sustainable is a business long term, but from the health aspect doesn't bother you that so many people do smoke and particularly young teens who are smoking and many of them have already gotten addicted to cigarettes. And there is a lot of restrictions on cigarettes. But you're right there, still teenagers and do start, and they're still adults that continue. We can continue the restrictive measures on cigarettes, and we should. But that should not be the only measure public health adopt if we have better products available for consumers in any product category, not only in cigarettes and had no cigarettes are very emotional. You offer them to the consumer, you explain to them what they are, and you give them incentives to move to something better, and that's exactly what we're trying to do. It must be tough to be in an industry that gets so much criticism from the public. How does this impact the way you lead the company? Philip Morris I think the moment you can changed the product you have the technology, have the science you have to. That can change varied dramatically. The public health question and the individual people. And that's exactly what I'm trying to do, is the leader in the organization tries to achieve, And I think that's a good thing to do. Does this negative public view impact your ability to attract the best people of the top talent to come to work for Philip Morris? I would say the cigarette industry, if we're only confined to cigarettes, it's more difficult to convince certain people for the new product. There's absolutely no problem and the new purpose and the actually many people that have joined because we changed even the leadership of the company in certain domains because we needed it. We need a technical skill. It's much easier, obviously because the purpose is much more compelling. But today it is certainly much easier and actually much more attractive to people looking inside of Philip Morris. I understand that some employees have been pushed back about this whole idea off introducing this product of I quote, what did you have to do to win them over? Well, I didn't say there was pushback. I think like in any change, because these products are much more complex, from science toe electronics to working in different ways. Toe reverse logistics. It was not a question about the purpose of the community questionable whether these products would be commercialized. But Maur, how am I going to get there? How I'm going to replace cigarettes with this new better ultimate how we're gonna change The working methods have become much more consumer centric. These are the questions the employees were worried about and still are because we're still in change. And that's where the dialogue with the organization needs to continue. But I think the Arab League have embraced the purpose from the very beginning. There is no question about that. And what about yourself, Andre? I mean, how did you change? Did you have to change your leadership approach? I had to change my style, which is asking people more what? How to do the things and let them do it rather than telling them how to do it. So my job becomes more, I would say assessing the organizational skill, be consistent with the message. Let people do the job by asking the right questions and giving the answers and changing the ways of working of the organization, which are all these things to say, not so used to do so. You've been CEO for six years now. If you look back, what do you most proud of within your proudest accomplishment? Well, I think the fact that we're now have in 52 countries in the world smoke free products that are better than cigarettes and that they have the potential to replace cigarettes. We work so hard, so long on this product and finally their reality. And actually we have already. More than 11 million people have adopted and they represent almost 18% of our revenue is just three. I think that's what makes me very happy and proud