JTI appoints Mark McGuinness as UK Marketing Director

JTI (Japan Tobacco International) has appointed Mark McGuinness as UK Marketing Director with immediate effect.

Having joined JTI in South Africa in 2005 as HoReCa (hotel, restaurant and cafe) Manager, Mark held various positions of increasing responsibility, becoming Marketing Director for South Africa in 2008. By 2015, his role expanded to lead Marketing for the South, East and Central African Markets and has since held numerous, international positions within JTI.

This includes assuming the role of Regional Marketing & Sales Director for the MENEAT and WWDF Region in 2017. More recently, Mark joined the UK Market in 2020 as Trade and Consumer Activation Director.

Bringing a wealth of experience to his new position, Mark will be responsible for leading the overall strategy and implementation of Marketing plans across the UK, including the overall Brand Portfolio Management across Conventional Tobacco Products as well as Reduced Risk Products, Digital advancement and Trade and Consumer Activation platforms.

Mark begins this new role as Stéphane Berset leaves the UK to become General Manager of the Czech, Hungary and Slovakia cluster Market.

“Having spent more than 16 years of my career at JTI, the move to UK Marketing Director is a rewarding step and I look forward to using my knowledge and experience from other divisions of the company to drive a progressive marketing strategy and build on our overall Market Leadership position in the UK,” Mark commented.

“Despite a challenging environment as we emerge from the pandemic and settle into new ways of working, JTI and its brands have gone from strength to strength throughout 2021 and we’re proud to culminate the year in a strong position for the next 12 months.”