He has been with PMI for 23 years, and now, Ali N. Karaman is Philip Morris’s newly appointed Managing Director for Egypt & Levant. In an unique interview with Government, Karaman takes us via PMI’s plans for the following coming years in fulfilling a smoke-free transformation, the worth in Lebanon’s market, and PMI’s new imaginative and prescient in immediately’s quick altering world.
Previous to his appointment as MD of Philip Morris Egypt & Levant, Karaman served because the Director of Smoke Free Merchandise for the Center East cluster, the place he led the commercialization of Smoke Free Merchandise in lots of Center East markets whereas establishing deep trade data and robust business experience throughout varied complicated markets.
- Are you able to focus on the transformation happening at PMI and the corporate’s new imaginative and prescient?
PMI’s international enterprise transformation is about delivering on our imaginative and prescient to create a smoke-free future. To make our imaginative and prescient a actuality, we’re reworking and staking our complete future on scientifically substantiated smoke-free merchandise which can be a significantly better various for all grownup people who smoke who would in any other case proceed smoking. Getting away from cigarettes could be essentially the most important, optimistic disruption for the estimated 1.1 billion grownup people who smoke worldwide—and we now have the means to attain this within the not-too-distant future.
- Why is the Lebanon thought of an essential funding marketplace for Philip Morris?
Regardless of the endured a number of crises together with financial, monetary, political and safety crises, Lebanon stays a dynamic nation. I’m impressed by the resilience of the Lebanese folks and their potential to stay ahead trying and progressive regardless of the various challenges they’ve confronted.
PMI has at all times been current in Lebanon, even throughout the turmoil of the civil battle. In 2018, we took our partnership with the Regie to the following stage once we began Marlboro medium manufacturing domestically on the Regie’s services. We invested in new strains which can be nonetheless operational and stay dedicated to Lebanon and additional growth of our enterprise relationship with the Regie.
- Why is it so essential for Philip Morris to develop smoke-free merchandise, particularly in a rustic like Lebanon with excessive smoking charges?
Since 2008, we now have invested greater than USD 9 billion to develop, scientifically substantiate, and commercialize smoke-free merchandise for adults who would in any other case proceed to smoke, with the purpose of fully ending the sale of cigarettes, as smoking is the reason for critical ailments, and one of the simplest ways to keep away from the harms of smoking is rarely to start out or, for individuals who smoke, to give up. That’s the reason PMI is now actively working to develop its function and evolve right into a broader way of life, client wellness and healthcare firm, extending its worth proposition and modern functionality to commercialize merchandise that transcend tobacco and nicotine.
In Lebanon, there are greater than 1.4 million people who smoke, and has one of many highest smoking incidences within the area. Subsequently, Lebanon is a crucial marketplace for our smoke-free imaginative and prescient. The latter, mixed with the dynamic and progressive nature of the Lebanese folks, it was crucial to introduce our smoke-free imaginative and prescient in Lebanon. We have now launched IQOS again in February 2020, only one 12 months later we now have launched Lil, a extra inexpensive and accessible machine. We have now elevated our providing to the Lebanese client and are always on the lookout for methods to assist Lebanese people who smoke swap to higher alternate options.
- Are you able to clarify, in your individual phrases, why heated tobacco merchandise trigger much less hurt that conventional cigarettes which require burning?
The out there details about heated tobacco is just not a matter of principle or hypothesis. It’s substantiated scientifically and thru checks and sensible use. Heated Tobacco merchandise emit on common 90% decrease ranges of dangerous chemical compounds in comparison with cigarette smoke, however that doesn’t imply 90% discount in dangers as Heated Tobacco merchandise aren’t danger free. In heated tobacco merchandise, the tobacco is heated at a managed temperature with out burning it, in an effort to launch a nicotine containing aerosol. Within the aerosol of a heated tobacco product, water and glycerin kind roughly 90% of the aerosol mass, there aren’t any stable particles, and the degrees of toxicants are lowered on common by 90% in comparison with cigarette smoke.
- What are you able to share about PMI’s long-term objectives 5-10 years down the road within the area?
In 2015, our CEO Andre Calantzanpoulos made a daring assertion asserting the ambition of the corporate to switch cigarettes with smoke-free merchandise. Since then, Hundreds of thousands of grownup people who smoke have already switched to our smoke-free merchandise and given up cigarettes fully—and that is only the start. Certainly one of our key strategic priorities is to develop, assess, and commercialize a portfolio of modern tobacco and different nicotine-containing merchandise. We draw on the experience of a staff of world-class scientists from a broad spectrum of disciplines to assist us attain our purpose of changing cigarettes with much less dangerous alternate options. Changing cigarettes with much less dangerous alternate options is on the core of our enterprise technique and sits atop our sustainability priorities.
In our area, there’s a excessive smoking prevalence with little consciousness on the out there alternate options to smoking. Nevertheless, I strongly consider a smoke-free future is attainable, and the advantages it may possibly deliver to the individuals who would in any other case proceed to smoke, and therefore to public well being, are huge. Nevertheless, the corporate can’t succeed alone. Along with governments and civil society, we will maximize this chance by attaining a consensus that smoke-free alternate options, when topic to correct authorities oversight and regulation, are a part of a sound tobacco coverage.
- How do PMI’s Setting, Social, and Governance (ESG) objectives come into play in Egypt and the Levant?
To fulfill environmental, social and governance (ESG) points it’s essential to make use of ample governance practices. PMI’s plans search to think about sustainability and social impression methods, that are crucial, particularly in Egypt and the Levant. Our firm ideas of turning phrases, intentions and commitments into motion are going to be translated into cooperation with organizations and establishments to attain a optimistic impression and attempt to make a distinction with regard to many features of ESG points.
- Why do you assume it’s crucial to be launching a brand new imaginative and prescient characterised by EPPIC disruption in immediately’s world?
In immediately’s fast-changing world, you possibly can at all times select to do nothing. As a substitute, we’ve set a brand new course for the corporate—we now have chosen to do one thing actually large. We’re making a PMI that can be remembered for changing cigarettes with a portfolio of revolutionary merchandise. This the EPPIC disruption in our opinion as it’s characterised by 5 essential standards, which is being Environment friendly, Purposeful, Professional-social, Inclusive, and Constructive.
PMI’s new imaginative and prescient displays the corporate dedication to society, which expects us to behave responsibly. We’re doing simply that, by delivering a smoke-free future. Our imaginative and prescient is crucial as tens of millions of grownup people who smoke are on the lookout for much less dangerous, but satisfying, alternate options to smoking. Our mission is to provide that alternative whereas hold warning them in regards to the dangers that could possibly be related to any of our merchandise.
- What do you anticipate would be the largest problem in your new function because the Managing Director for Egypt & Levant?
The area has been very welcoming to me to this point. I additionally think about myself fortunate to be working alongside a really motivated and distinctive staff in Lebanon. All through the years, this staff has been capable of obtain lots of successes and drive the enterprise ahead. Our individuals are our essential asset that may assist us to ship distinctive outcomes and preserve our profitable relations with our stakeholders, enterprise companions, customers and regulators.
I consider a giant administration problem in anywhere is to have a transparent imaginative and prescient and technique. Happily, that is precisely the benefit of working with PMI. The corporate imaginative and prescient and technique are apparent, and my function as Managing Director is to speak them to customers within the area I work in. The problem is to make the people who smoke see and really feel the advantages of our coverage of smoke-free merchandise, to persuade them of switching to “less-harmful” merchandise or to give up smoking fully.
This text was offered by Philip Morris Lebanon.
