BAT CFO Soraya Benchikh steps down, Javed Iqbal named interim

Published 26/08/2025, 07:14
BAT CFO Soraya Benchikh steps down, Javed Iqbal named interim

LONDON - British American Tobacco (BAT) announced on Tuesday that Chief Financial Officer Soraya Benchikh is stepping down from her role and from the company’s Board of Directors, effective immediately.

Benchikh, who rejoined BAT in May 2024, will remain available to support the transition until December 31, 2025, according to a company press release. BAT has launched a recruitment process to identify a permanent successor.

Javed Iqbal, currently Director of Digital and Information, will serve as interim Chief Financial Officer. Iqbal previously held the position of Interim Finance Director from May 2023 until April 2024.

CEO Tadeu Marroco acknowledged Benchikh’s contributions to the company, noting that BAT’s performance in the first half of the year was slightly ahead of expectations and that the company remains on track to meet its full-year guidance.

"Soraya has made a significant contribution to BAT, having worked in various roles within the Group over many years," Marroco said.

In her statement, Benchikh highlighted her role in "embedding financial discipline and putting New Categories on a path to accretive margins and sustainable profitability" during her tenure.

BAT, which employs more than 48,000 people, reported revenue of £25.9 billion in 2024, with an adjusted profit from operations of £11.9 billion. The company aims to have 50 million adult consumers of its smokeless products by 2030 and generate 50% of its revenue from these products by 2035.

The company plans to provide an update on its progress in a pre-close trading update in December.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

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