Imperial Brands Appoints John Rishton as New Chair, Signaling a Fresh Chapter for the Tobacco Group

Imperial Brands, one of the world’s best-known tobacco companies, has announced a key boardroom change: John Rishton will become the company’s next Chair. He will succeed Therese Esperdy, who is set to retire from the board later in 2026. The move is the latest in a series of senior leadership transitions at the maker of well-known cigarette brands such as Winston, Davidoff, and Gauloises.

This appointment matters because the chair is not just a ceremonial role. In large public companies, the chair helps set board priorities, guides governance, supports the CEO without managing day-to-day operations, and plays a big role in how investors judge stability and direction. With Rishton’s track record leading complex global businesses, Imperial Brands appears to be prioritizing steady oversight, disciplined capital allocation, and clear strategy as the tobacco industry continues to change.

What Imperial Brands Announced

Imperial Brands said that John Rishton will join its board on July 13, 2026. After that, he will take over as Chair on December 1, 2026, when current chair Therese Esperdy steps down. This timeline suggests a planned handover, giving Rishton months to learn the company’s priorities, meet key stakeholders, and build strong working relationships with directors and senior executives before he formally takes the top board role.

In the same announcement, the company highlighted Esperdy’s impact during her time as chair. She has held the role since January 2020, a period when the company focused heavily on strengthening its core tobacco business, improving operational performance, and returning significant cash to shareholders.

Why This Change Is a Big Deal for Investors

For shareholders, leadership transitions can be either reassuring or worrying—depending on how they’re handled. In this case, Imperial Brands is presenting the move as orderly and deliberate, not reactive. A clearly stated timeline can reduce uncertainty, especially for large institutional investors who care about long-term governance standards.

Here’s why markets often watch chair appointments closely:

• Governance and accountability: The chair leads the board that hires, supports, and challenges the CEO.
• Strategy oversight: Big strategic pivots—like investment in “next-generation” products or changes to capital returns—often require board-level guidance.
• Investor confidence: A respected chair can calm nerves during sector headwinds, regulatory changes, or operational restructurings.
• Succession planning: Smooth transitions suggest the company plans ahead, which can be seen as a sign of maturity and stability.

Imperial Brands has been balancing several competing pressures: protecting cash flows from traditional cigarettes, managing regulation and taxation, adapting to shifting consumer habits, and deciding how aggressively to invest in new nicotine formats. A chair with deep experience in transformation and global operations can help steer those board-level decisions.

John Rishton: Background and Leadership Profile

John Rishton is widely known in UK corporate circles for leading major businesses through demanding periods. Imperial Brands noted that he currently serves as Chair of Informa PLC, a group focused on events and academic publishing. His role at Informa is important because it shows he is already active at the top level of public-company board governance, not just executive management.

Rishton’s executive background is also notable:

• Former CEO of Rolls-Royce: A highly complex engineering and aerospace business with long product cycles and deep regulatory and safety demands.
• Former CFO at British Airways: A role centered on financial discipline, cost control, investment planning, and managing volatility—skills that boards often value highly.

These experiences suggest Imperial Brands wanted a chair who understands operational complexity and financial rigor—two traits that can matter a lot in consumer goods companies with strong cash generation but heavy regulation and reputational pressure.

What His Experience Could Mean at Imperial Brands

While tobacco is very different from aerospace or aviation, top-level board oversight often comes down to universal fundamentals: governance, risk management, capital allocation, long-term planning, and stakeholder expectations. Rishton’s history as both CEO and CFO may signal a continued emphasis on:

• Clear performance metrics and accountability across leadership.
• Disciplined spending and careful investment choices.
• Long-term risk thinking, including regulatory risk and litigation exposure.
• Structured transformation rather than sudden, chaotic change.

Therese Esperdy’s Legacy: Turnaround Focus and Shareholder Returns

Therese Esperdy has been chair since early 2020, and Imperial Brands credited her with overseeing a period focused on turning around and strengthening the group’s core business. According to the company’s statement, she also oversaw more than 10 billion pounds in capital returns to shareholders during her chairmanship—an eye-catching figure for investors who prioritize dividends and buybacks.

In many mature industries, especially ones with slower growth and heavy regulation, returning capital can be a central part of the investment case. For Imperial Brands, maintaining shareholder returns has been one way to compete for investor interest versus other consumer staples or “sin stock” peers.

At the same time, a focus on returns creates a tough balancing act: the company must keep rewarding shareholders while still investing enough to stay competitive—whether that means upgrading manufacturing, strengthening distribution, building data and analytics capabilities, or funding reduced-risk product portfolios where relevant.

This Is the Second Major Leadership Shift in Recent Months

The chair change does not happen in isolation. Imperial Brands has already experienced a major executive transition recently: Lukas Paravicini, previously the company’s chief financial officer, stepped into the CEO role after Stefan Bomhard stepped down.

When a company changes both its CEO and chair within a relatively short period, investors naturally ask: is the company resetting strategy, responding to pressure, or simply executing a long-planned succession process? Imperial Brands’ messaging suggests continuity and planning, but markets will still look for proof through results—especially in how the business performs in its core markets and how it manages pricing, volumes, and regulation-driven challenges.

What a Chair Actually Does (In Plain English)

People sometimes confuse the chair with the CEO. They are different jobs.

The CEO runs the company day to day: operations, sales, marketing, manufacturing, product development, and execution.

The Chair leads the board: setting agendas, making sure directors have the right information, supporting and challenging management, and keeping governance strong. A good chair helps ensure:

• Board discussions are constructive, not chaotic.
• Key risks are identified early.
• Executive pay and incentives align with performance.
• Succession planning is taken seriously.
• The company listens to investors and other stakeholders appropriately.

In heavily regulated industries like tobacco, the board’s role can feel even more intense because the risk landscape is complex: excise taxes, packaging rules, advertising restrictions, public health policy, and shifting political attitudes can all affect performance.

Industry Context: Why Tobacco Companies Face Constant Pressure

Even though Imperial Brands sells popular products and generates strong cash flows, tobacco companies operate in one of the most scrutinized sectors in the world. The pressure comes from multiple directions:

1) Regulation and Taxation

Governments often increase tobacco taxes to reduce smoking rates and raise revenue. Packaging rules, flavor restrictions, and marketing bans can also limit how companies compete. These policies can change quickly, creating uncertainty.

2) Volume Declines in Many Markets

In several developed countries, the number of smokers has been trending down over time. That can reduce sales volumes, even if companies try to offset it with pricing. Managing this decline carefully—without losing profitability—requires strong execution.

3) Shifting Consumer Preferences

Some nicotine consumers move toward alternatives such as heated tobacco, vaping products, or oral nicotine products (rules vary widely by country). Companies must decide how much to invest in these areas and how to navigate changing regulations.

4) Reputation and ESG Debate

Tobacco remains controversial for many investors, and some funds restrict or exclude it. At the same time, other investors focus on cash returns and stable earnings. The board must understand these investor segments and communicate clearly.

In this context, Imperial Brands’ chair appointment can be seen as a governance move designed to keep the company steady and credible, especially during leadership transitions.

What to Watch Next: Timeline and Likely Priorities in 2026

Because the transition is staged, there are clear milestones investors and analysts can watch:

• July 13, 2026: Rishton joins the board, begins onboarding, and starts engaging with strategy discussions.
• December 1, 2026: Rishton becomes chair, Esperdy departs the board.

Between July and December, stakeholders may look for clues about how board priorities evolve. Some likely areas of focus include:

• Capital allocation: dividends, share buybacks, and debt management decisions.
• Performance of core combustible brands: pricing power, market share, and geographic mix.
• Product portfolio strategy: how the company positions itself amid consumer shifts and regulation.
• Cost discipline and productivity: protecting margins while managing inflation and supply chain costs.
• Governance and board composition: whether additional board refreshment follows the chair change.

Why Imperial Brands Chose a Chair With Global, Complex-Business Experience

At first glance, someone known for Rolls-Royce and aviation finance might seem like an unusual pick for a tobacco group. But from a board perspective, the chair is not hired to run cigarette factories personally. The chair is hired to lead strong oversight, manage risk, and support a CEO and executive team as they execute strategy.

Rishton’s leadership background suggests strengths in:

• Handling complexity: large organizations with many stakeholders and strict oversight expectations.
• Financial stewardship: especially with his CFO roots, which can align with a shareholder-return story.
• Transformation management: guiding organizations through change without losing operational control.

For Imperial Brands, which operates in a high-cash, high-regulation environment, those qualities can be highly relevant.

How This Could Affect Imperial Brands’ Strategy and Story

Imperial Brands has often been viewed as a company focused on maximizing value from its core tobacco operations while making targeted moves in other nicotine categories. A chair transition can subtly reshape how the story is told to markets—even if the underlying strategy remains similar.

With a new CEO already in place and a new chair arriving later in 2026, Imperial Brands may want to present a unified leadership narrative around:

• Stability: no sudden shocks, a controlled handover, and clear governance.
• Delivery: hitting targets, sustaining cash generation, and executing operational priorities.
• Discipline: thoughtful investment rather than chasing every trend.
• Shareholder focus: maintaining an attractive return profile where sustainable.

In other words, this could be about reinforcing confidence. The market often rewards companies that show they can manage change without drama.

Quick Company Snapshot: Brands and Market Presence

Imperial Brands is known for cigarette brands including Winston, Davidoff, and Gauloises. The company operates across multiple countries, and like other global tobacco companies, it must tailor its approach to very different regulatory systems, tax policies, and consumer behaviors.

For readers who want broader background on the company, you can explore Imperial Brands’ corporate site here: Imperial Brands PLC.

FAQs About Imperial Brands Naming John Rishton as New Chair

1) Who did Imperial Brands choose as its next chair?

Imperial Brands named John Rishton as its next chair. He is currently chair of Informa PLC and has previously served as CEO of Rolls-Royce and CFO at British Airways.

2) When will John Rishton officially become chair?

He will become chair on December 1, 2026, after joining the board earlier on July 13, 2026.

3) Who is stepping down from the chair role at Imperial Brands?

Therese Esperdy will step down and retire from the board in December 2026.

4) Why is Imperial Brands changing its chair now?

The company presented it as a planned succession. In big public companies, chair transitions are often scheduled well in advance to support continuity and strong governance.

5) Has Imperial Brands had other leadership changes recently?

Yes. In recent months, the company also changed CEO: Lukas Paravicini took over as CEO after Stefan Bomhard stepped down.

6) What did Imperial Brands say about Therese Esperdy’s time as chair?

Imperial Brands credited Esperdy with overseeing the turnaround of its core tobacco business and delivering more than £10 billion in capital returns to shareholders during her tenure as chair.

Conclusion: A Planned Transition With a Clear Message

Imperial Brands’ decision to appoint John Rishton as its next chair looks like a carefully planned move aimed at continuity, credibility, and strong governance. By setting a clear timeline—board entry in July and takeover in December—the company reduces uncertainty and gives stakeholders time to adjust. With a new CEO already installed and now a chair succession underway, 2026 becomes an important year for Imperial Brands to prove that leadership change can go hand in hand with steady performance, disciplined strategy, and continued focus on shareholder value.

Source: Reuters reporting published January 20, 2026.

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