Altria CEO to retire in May

The top executive of tobacco giant Altria Group Inc. is retiring in May, and a former partner in the law firm of Hunton & Williams is taking the helm of one of the Richmond area's largest employers.

Michael E. Szymanczyk, who led Philip Morris USA and its parent company Altria Group Inc. through significant transitions, including its headquarters relocation from New York City to Henrico County, announced his retirement Friday.

Szymanczyk, 63, has served as chairman and chief executive officer of Altria for four years. Before that, he was president and chief executive officer of Philip Morris USA for 12 years. He plans to step down immediately after the company's annual shareholders meeting in May.

Altria said its board of directors elected Martin J. Barrington, 58, as chairman and chief executive officer upon Szymanczyk's retirement.

Barrington, 58, joined Philip Morris in 1993 after working for Hunton & Williams from 1982 to 1993. He became a partner in the law firm in 1990. He has spent most of his career working in the Richmond area, Altria spokesman Bill Phelps said.

Barrington has worked in various roles for the company and its subsidiary businesses, most recently as Altria's vice chairman. He also served as general counsel for Altria's domestic cigarette company Philip Morris USA, and its overseas cigarette business Philip Morris International Inc., which was spun off as a separate company in 2008.

Barrington has a bachelor's degree from The College of Saint Rose and a law degree from Albany Law School.

Neither Barrington nor Szymanczyk were available for comment on Friday, an Altria spokesman said.

"It has been an extraordinary experience to lead the reshaping of Altria, following the completion of the Kraft and Philip Morris International spinoffs," Szymanczyk said in a conference call with analysts Friday to present the company's fourth-quarter financial results. Altria spun-off Kraft Foods Inc. as a separate company in 2007.

"I believe the company is well positioned to continue to prosper," Szymanczyk said. "As I near retirement, now is the time to transition leadership to people of an age to guide the company through its next phase of growth."

Szymanczyk has worked for the company for 23 years, and as CEO led it through transitions that included the relocation of the Philip Morris USA and Altria corporate headquarters from New York City to Henrico County, which brought jobs to the Richmond region.

The company also undertook a major restructuring of its cigarette business to adjust to a shrinking U.S. cigarette market, which has both brought jobs to the Richmond region and cost jobs locally.

In 2009, Philip Morris USA closed its only other U.S. cigarette plant, in Cabarrus County, N.C., and consolidated production at its Richmond plant.

In October, the company said it would cut 15 percent of its salaried workforce supporting its cigarette business, with most of the job reductions early this year.

At the time of the announcement, Szymanczyk said those cuts were part of the reality of managing volume declines in the cigarette business.

While reducing the size of its cigarette operations, the company also has pursued a strategy of broadening its brand portfolio, acquiring businesses in smokeless tobacco, cigars and wines.

"I think Szymanczyk has done a terrific job navigating through a very volatile environment and delivering really superior shareholder returns," said Ann Gurkin, an analyst for Davenport & Co. in Richmond.

Gurkin said she expects the company under Barrington will continue to pursue maximizing shareholder value and an "adjacency strategy" involving developing or adding other tobacco products.

In 2007, the company completed a 450,000-square-foot research and technology center in downtown Richmond.

On Friday, the company said it had entered into an agreement with Okono A/S, an affiliate of the Danish company Fertin Pharma A/S, which develops and makes nicotine gum.

The agreement between the companies is to develop "non-combustible, nicotine-containing products for adult tobacco consumers," Altria announced.

Altria said its board also elected David R. Beran, 57, as the company's president and chief operating officer, effective May 17.

Beran has worked for the company since 1976. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of Virginia and a master's in business administration from the University of Richmond.

While Szymanczyk himself has shied away from the spotlight as Altria's top executive, he has been quietly influential in the Richmond region and has "set the tone" for the company's employee involvement, said Gregory H. Wingfield, president and CEO of the Greater Richmond Partnership Inc., a regional economic development organization.

Philip Morris and Altria "wanted their management team to be engaged in the business community and the nonprofit community," Wingfield said.