Former Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company Executive Joins 22nd Century
October 26 2016 - 9:50AM
Business Wire
Will Spearhead the Company’s Strategic
Partnerships with International Tobacco Companies
22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE MKT: XXII), a leader in tobacco
harm reduction, announced today the hiring of Michael Zercher as
the Company’s Vice President of Business Development. Mr. Zercher
previously headed Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company’s international
business operations based in Zurich, Switzerland.
From 2003-2009, while serving as Vice President and Managing
Director of Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company International (a
global subsidiary of Reynolds American, Inc. (NYSE: RAI) and maker
of Natural American Spirit® premium cigarettes), Mr. Zercher grew
the international American Spirit business from USD $8 Million to
more than USD $100 Million in annual sales. Starting with
operations in only a handful of countries outside of the United
States, Mr. Zercher expanded aggressively and built a thriving
international business with significant sales in more than 12
countries including Germany, Japan, France, Spain, and Switzerland.
In 2015, parent company Reynolds American, Inc. sold Santa Fe
Natural’s international business to Japan Tobacco Inc. (JAPAF) for
USD $5 Billion – a value of approximately 30 times American
Spirit’s annual international sales.
Despite generally declining global tobacco sales, Mr. Zercher
oversaw double-digit revenue and profit growth for American Spirit
cigarettes each year. At 22nd Century, Mr. Zercher will spearhead
the Company’s efforts to form strategic partnerships with companies
capable of widely commercializing 22nd Century’s proprietary
brands. In addition, Mr. Zercher will pursue sales of the Company’s
proprietary Very Low Nicotine tobacco leaf and high nicotine
tobacco leaf.
In order to fully integrate with the 22nd Century executive
team, Mr. Zercher is relocating his family from Santa Fe, New
Mexico to Buffalo, New York. “I am excited to join the great team
at 22nd Century and look forward to renewing the important industry
relationships I built in Asia and in Europe,” explained Mr.
Zercher. “International markets are literally crying out for unique
and effective ways to reduce the harm from smoking and 22nd Century
controls the most disruptive technology in the tobacco industry. I
believe 22nd Century is on the verge of explosive growth.”
“Mike Zercher was instrumental in building a highly profitable,
rapidly-growing American Spirit sales machine across Europe and in
Japan,” explained Henry Sicignano, III, Chief Executive Officer and
President at 22nd Century Group. “To be sure, Mike’s efforts and
accomplishments at Reynolds were substantiated by the $5 Billion
Japan Tobacco acquisition of American Spirit’s international
business. We are confident Mike will likewise achieve great things
at 22nd Century.”
About 22nd Century Group, Inc.
22nd Century is a plant biotechnology company focused on
technology which allows it to increase or decrease the level of
nicotine in tobacco plants and the level of cannabinoids in
cannabis plants through genetic engineering and plant breeding. The
Company’s primary mission is to reduce the harm caused by smoking.
22nd Century currently owns or exclusively controls more than 200
issued patents and more than 50 pending patent applications around
the world. Visit www.xxiicentury.com for more information.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press
release contains forward-looking information, including all
statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the
intent, belief or current expectations of 22nd Century Group, Inc.,
its directors or its officers with respect to the contents of this
press release, including but not limited to our future revenue
expectations. The words “may,” “would,” “will,” “expect,”
“estimate,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “intend” and similar
expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify
forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee future results,
levels of activity or performance. You should not place undue
reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as
of the date that they were made. These cautionary statements should
be considered with any written or oral forward-looking statements
that we may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable
law, including the securities laws of the United States, we do not
intend to update any of the forward-looking statements to conform
these statements to reflect actual results, later events or
circumstances, or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated
events. You should carefully review and consider the various
disclosures made by us in our annual report on Form 10-K for the
fiscal year ended December 31, 2015, filed on February 18, 2016,
including the section entitled “Risk Factors,” and our other
reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
which attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors
that may affect our business, financial condition, results of
operation and cash flows. If one or more of these risks or
uncertainties materialize, or if the underlying assumptions prove
incorrect, our actual results may vary materially from those
expected or projected.
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Investor Relations:IRTH CommunicationsAndrew Haag,
866-976-4784xxii@irthcommunications.comorRedington, Inc.Tom
Redington, 203-222-7399
22nd Century (AMEX:XXII)
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