1 May 2012

Board Appointment

With effect from 1 June 2012, Matthew Phillips, Group Corporate & Legal Affairs Director, will be appointed to the Board as Corporate Affairs Director, reinforcing the strategic importance of our Corporate Affairs agenda and broadening the Board’s executive director representation.

With effect from 1 June 2012, John Downing will move from the role of Head of Group Legal to become Company Secretary.

Iain Napier, Imperial Tobacco Group Chairman, said: “I’m pleased to be welcoming Matthew to the Board and appointing John as Company Secretary.

“Matthew’s appointment reflects both the significant role Corporate Affairs plays in our sustainable sales growth agenda and his ongoing contribution to the strategic development of the Group.”

Biographical Details

Matthew Phillips

Matthew joined Imperial in 2000 having previously worked for the law firms Linklaters and Burges Salmon. With his M&A background he was closely involved with the acquisition of Reemtsma and was a lead member of the strategic team that managed the acquisition of Altadis. He was appointed Company Secretary in 2004, General Counsel in November 2007 and Group Corporate & Legal Affairs Director in October 2010.

Matthew is responsible for our global regulatory and legal affairs and anti-illicit trade and corporate responsibility strategies. He has been a member of the Operating Executive (previously the Chief Executives Committee) since 2004 and has been instrumental in the re-shaping of Imperial’s sales growth strategy.

John Downing
John joined Imperial in 2005 having worked for law firm Linklaters. He has had a number of senior legal roles in Imperial and was appointed Head of Group Legal in 2010, working alongside Matthew in managing the Group’s legal activities. He played a leading role in all aspects of the Altadis acquisition and has considerable experience in managing key corporate projects related to financing, business development and other commercial matters.