Johan Vandermeulen

Chief Operating Officer at BAT

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Johan Vandermeulen is the chief Operating officer and Management Board member of BAT (British American Tobacco). Vandermeulen holds Masters and MBA degrees from the University of Leuven. He has said that he started his career as a trainee more than 30 years ago.

Education and early career

Vandermeulen holds Masters and MBA degrees from the University of Leuven. He has said that he started his career as a trainee more than 30 years ago. From 1992 he progressed through marketing and management roles in Belgium, Turkey and Russia. He has said that he worked his way up to Chief Operating Officer. [1]

Career at BAT

His roles include leading the $1.72 billion acquisition of Tekel. He served as Global Brand Director, a tenure that revitalized the Kent brand and included the launch of Kent Nanotek. He was appointed to the Management Board in 2014 and promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2023. [1]

As Chief Operating Officer, Vandermeulen has said he is responsible for BAT's commercial performance in the markets. He has also said he is responsible for operations, innovation and R&D. He has said that 40% of his team is from Pakistan. [1]

Vandermeulen has said that anyone at the company can progress, as he did from trainee, and that BAT promotes 85% of its people from within. In his account, people join BAT for a career rather than a job. He has said that the worst thing that can happen in a career is never getting the chance to demonstrate how good you are. [1]

Views on BAT and its strategy

Vandermeulen has said that BAT has more than 100 years of history, a turnover of 27 billion pounds and close to 13 billion pounds of profit. He has described BAT's mission as creating a smokeless world. [1]

He has said that BAT wants half of its business to no longer come from selling cigarettes. By 2030 the company targets 50 million consumers of non-cigarette products, and he has said it has about half of them today. He has said that almost one fifth of BAT's business now comes from new products, which have generated almost $4 billion in turnover since 2018. [1]

Views on harm reduction

Vandermeulen has said that through innovation, technological breakthroughs and science, BAT has found alternatives for consumers. He has said that nicotine is addictive but is not the problem, and that nicotine is not carcinogenic, unlike alcohol. He has said that burning starts around 800 degrees, while BAT heats tobacco to around 300 degrees. [1]

He has said that BAT's modern oral products are the most advanced in harm reduction. In his view, modern oral pouches like Velo avoid the problem of devices, batteries and technology. He has said he hopes consumers of BAT's cigarette brands will move to Velo, which he calls the next big brand. [1]

Views on regulation and illicit trade

Vandermeulen has said that Sweden is the blueprint in terms of regulation. He has said that BAT advocates excise rates that reflect the risk profile of each product. He has said that vaping should face a much lower excise rate than cigarettes because it is much less risky. [1]

He has said that BAT does not want minors to use its products and that it favors adult flavors such as tobacco, menthol, minty and fruity. He has said that he hopes BAT and the government will put proper regulation in place for the vaping market. [1]

He has said that in some countries BAT has tax officers placed within its factories to register production. He has said that investing in enforcement against illicit trade pays back almost instantly. In his view, consumers would gradually return to the legal market if there were no excise shocks for five years. [1]

BAT in Pakistan

Vandermeulen has said that Pakistan is a very good example of openness to new categories among developing countries, and that it has opened up to tobacco harm reduction. He has said that BAT could save more than a million lives in Pakistan over the next 10 years. He has said that illegal vaping products are coming into Pakistan from China, and that he thinks vaping can be brought to Pakistan successfully. [1]

He has said that BAT has two factories in Pakistan, one of them at Jhelum, and directly employs 1,400 people there. He has said that about 3,500 more people are employed indirectly, and that the total linked to the Pakistan operations is about 5,000, including outsourced security guards. He has said that Velo is exported from Pakistan to Japan and Europe, and that BAT considers being made in Pakistan a big thing for the company. [1]

Vandermeulen has said that excise was doubled in 2023, which he calls a very difficult year. He has said that BAT collected something like 600 billion rupees over the last three years. He has said that BAT localized its input materials to reduce exposure to devaluation and inflation. In his view BAT plays a long-term game and expects economies to rise and fall, and it can cope with economic ups and downs as long as there are no excise shocks. [1]

Sustainability and farming

Vandermeulen has said that the Jhelum factory will be carbon neutral this year. He has said that BAT wants to be carbon neutral by 2050 and aims to halve its emissions by 2030. He has said that the biggest sustainability impact would come from achieving a smokeless world. [1]

He has said that BAT plants more than two and a half million trees a year in Pakistan and has contracts with more than 10,000 farmers. He has said that BAT uses drones to check that children are not working on the farms it works with. [1]

Talent and people

Vandermeulen has said that BAT is one of the most respected companies in Pakistan and that many talented women build careers at PTC. He has said that Pakistan is a talent factory for BAT's group, and that mobile staff can move between Pakistan, Canada, Brussels and London. He has said that BAT gets about 15,000 young university leavers each year in Pakistan who want to join. [1]

In his account, people want to be part of BAT's story of creating a smokeless world. He has said that BAT's stated values include passion to win. [1]

Timeline

1992
Began progressing through marketing and management roles in Belgium, Turkey and Russia.[1]
2014
Appointed to the Management Board.[1]
2023
Promoted to Chief Operating Officer.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2025-03-06 Why BAT won't just stop selling cigarettes Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

What does Johan Vandermeulen do?

Johan Vandermeulen is Chief Operating Officer at BAT. He has said that he is responsible for BAT's commercial performance in the markets. He has also said he is responsible for operations, innovation and R&D.[1]

Where did Johan Vandermeulen study?

Johan Vandermeulen holds Masters and MBA degrees from the University of Leuven.[1]

When did Johan Vandermeulen become Chief Operating Officer of BAT?

Johan Vandermeulen was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2023. He had been appointed to the Management Board in 2014.[1]

Where has Johan Vandermeulen worked?

Johan Vandermeulen progressed from 1992 through marketing and management roles in Belgium, Turkey and Russia. He rose from marketing trainee to Chief Operating Officer at BAT.[1]

What does Johan Vandermeulen say about BAT in Pakistan?

Johan Vandermeulen has said that BAT has two factories in Pakistan, one of them at Jhelum, and directly employs 1,400 people there. He has also said that Velo is exported from Pakistan to Japan and Europe.[1]

References

  1. Why BAT won't just stop selling cigarettes . Thought Behind Things , 2025-03-06.
Show the source passages (82 statements)
  1. Johan holds Masters and MBA degrees from the University of Leuven. Holding Masters and MBA degrees from the University of Leuven
  2. Johan rose from marketing trainee to Chief Operating Officer at BAT. rose from Marketing Trainee to Chief Operating Officer at BAT
  3. Johan progressed from 1992 through key marketing and management roles in Belgium, Turkey and Russia. Starting in 1992, he progressed through key marketing and management roles across Belgium, Turkey, and Russia
  4. Johan led the $1.72 billion acquisition of Tekel. notably leading the $1.72 billion acquisition of Tekel
  5. Johan served as Global Brand Director, a tenure that revitalized the Kent brand and included the launch of Kent Nanotek. His tenure as Global Brand Director revitalized the Kent brand, including the launch of Kent Nanotek
  6. Johan was appointed to the Management Board in 2014. His 2014 appointment to the Management Board, and subsequent promotion to COO in 2023
  7. Johan was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2023. subsequent promotion to COO in 2023
  8. Johan says he started his career as a trainee more than 30 years ago. I started my career as a trainee more than 30 years ago
  9. Johan says he worked his way up to Chief Operating Officer. I could work myself up to my current position as Chief Operating Officer
  10. Johan says anyone at the company can progress, as he did from trainee. I started as a trainee. And if I can do it, everybody can do it.
  11. Johan says BAT promotes 85% of its people from within. we promote 85% from within
  12. Johan says people join BAT for a career rather than a job. you do not join our company for a job. You join our company for a career
  13. Johan says the worst thing that can happen in a career is never getting the chance to demonstrate how good you are. the worst thing that can happen in your career is that you can never demonstrate how good you are
  14. Johan says BAT has more than 100 years of history. BAT has a long history, more than 100 years of of of history
  15. Johan says BAT has a turnover of 27 billion pounds. We have a turnover of of 27 billion pounds
  16. Johan says BAT makes close to 13 billion pounds of profit. We make close to 13 billion pounds of profit
  17. Johan says BAT's mission is to create a smokeless world. that's our mission to create a better tomorrow by creating a smokeless world
  18. Johan says BAT wants half of its business to no longer come from selling cigarettes. we want to have half of our business no longer coming from selling cigarettes
  19. Johan says BAT has about half of the 50 million consumers it targets by 2030 for non-cigarette products. We want to have by 2030, 50 million consumers globally who who use products which are no longer cigarettes or or combustible products. Today, we have more or less half of them
  20. Johan says that through innovation, technological breakthroughs and science, BAT has found alternatives for consumers. through innovation, through technological breakthroughs and based on science, we have now found alternatives for consumers
  21. Johan says BAT was confronted with the health impact of its products and had no answer for it. we were confronted with the health impact that our products had on society and we didn't have an answer for that
  22. Johan says nicotine is addictive but is not the problem. Nicotine is addictive, but nicotine is not the problem
  23. Johan says nicotine is not carcinogenic, unlike alcohol. Nicotine is not carcinogenic, contrary to for instance, alcohol
  24. Johan says burning starts around 800 degrees, while BAT heats tobacco to around 300 degrees. Burning starts around 800 degrees. We basically heat the tobacco around 300 degrees
  25. Johan says BAT's modern oral products are the most advanced in harm reduction. I think the most advanced product in terms of harm reduction is of course our modern oral products
  26. Johan says modern oral pouches like Velo avoid the problem of devices, batteries and technology. modern oral or Velo is there, I think the best answer because you don't have the problem of the devices, the batteries, the technology, the whole thing
  27. Johan says Sweden is the blueprint in terms of regulation. Sweden is is for me the the blueprint in terms of of of regulation
  28. Johan says BAT advocates excise rates that reflect the risk profile of each product. we advocate that the excise levels would reflect the risk profile of the product
  29. Johan says vaping should face a much lower excise rate than cigarettes because it is much less risky. As vaping is much less risky than smoking, we would advocate to have a much lower excise rate than on cigarettes
  30. Johan says BAT does not want minors to use its products. we don't want users, underage users, so minors, children, whatever to consume our products
  31. Johan says BAT favors adult flavors such as tobacco, menthol, minty and fruity. let's use adult flavors, that is tobacco, menthol, minty flavors, fruity flavors
  32. Johan hopes BAT and the government will put proper regulation in place for the vaping market. I hope that we can uh together with the government put uh proper regulation in place in terms of how to regulate the vaping market
  33. Johan says Pakistan is a very good example of openness to new categories among developing countries. I think Pakistan from uh in in the emerging economies and in developing world, I think is a very good example in terms of openness to these new categories
  34. Johan says Pakistan has opened up to tobacco harm reduction. Pakistan as as a country has opened up for that vision of of basically tobacco harm reduction
  35. Johan says BAT could save more than a million lives in Pakistan over the next 10 years. I'm sure we can we can save more than a million lives in the next 10 years in Pakistan
  36. Johan says illegal vaping products are coming into Pakistan from China. there's a lot of illegal products in in in Pakistan as we speak, coming out of China
  37. Johan says he thinks vaping can be brought to Pakistan successfully. I think we can we can bring vaping to Pakistan successfully
  38. Johan says cigarette consumption would not disappear if BAT stopped selling cigarettes. the moment that we leave the space, it's not that uh the cigarette consumption will disappear
  39. Johan says illicit products carry no guarantee of what they contain. With illicit products, you don't have that guarantee. You don't know what's in the products
  40. Johan says everything BAT markets goes through internal controls. everything that we market uh is actually goes through internal controls
  41. Johan says the South Africa government banned cigarette sales in the worst days of COVID. In the worst days of of COVID in South Africa, the government decides that you cannot sell any cigarettes anymore
  42. Johan says the South Africa ban lasted six months, after which BAT could re-enter the market. After six months, the ban was lifted and we could re-enter the market
  43. Johan says about 75% of South Africa's market was still illicit two to three years after the ban. when we are what two, three years post that COVID uh uh time, still 75% of that market is illicit
  44. Johan says in some countries BAT has tax officers placed within its factories to register production. in some countries what we do is is basically put tax officers within the company, within the factory, so that everything is registered
  45. Johan says investing in enforcement against illicit trade pays back almost instantly. I think also invest in that enforcement and it's good that Pakistan is doing it because the payback is instantaneous
  46. Johan says that without excise shocks for five years, consumers would gradually return to the legal market. if we don't have that excise shocks for the next five years, gradually you will see the consumers coming back to uh the legal market
  47. Johan says excise was doubled in 2023, which he calls a very difficult year. Now 23 was a very difficult year because we doubled the excise
  48. Johan says BAT collected something like 600 billion rupees over the last three years. we collected over the last three years something like 600 billion rupee
  49. Johan says BAT uses revenue from cigarettes to fund its transformation. from combustion, from selling cigarettes, of course to fund the transformation
  50. Johan says BAT spends billions of pounds building new product categories. So, if you look at how much we spend to build these new categories, we we we talk about billions of pounds
  51. Johan says almost one fifth of BAT's business now comes from new products. already almost close to 1/5 of our business comes out of these new products
  52. Johan says products in the new categories have generated almost $4 billion in turnover since 2018. it's almost uh $4 billion in terms of of turnover in and this is created since 2018
  53. Johan says BAT has two factories in Pakistan, one of them at Jhelum. we have two uh factories, Akora and and Jhelum
  54. Johan says BAT directly employs 1,400 people in Pakistan. I think we we employ uh 1,400 people directly
  55. Johan says about 3,500 more people are employed indirectly. I think indirectly there's another 3,500
  56. Johan says about 5,000 people in total are linked to BAT's Pakistan operations, including outsourced security guards. security guards because we don't employ them, it's outsourced. So we talk probably in total about 5,000
  57. Johan says Velo is exported from Pakistan to Japan and Europe. if you look at Velo, we also export into the wider world, into Japan, into Europe
  58. Johan says BAT considers being made in Pakistan a big thing for the company. So it's it's really made in Pakistan is is uh is a big thing for us
  59. Johan says the Jhelum factory will be carbon neutral this year. But for instance, in our Jhelum factory, we will be this year already uh carbon neutral
  60. Johan says BAT wants to be carbon neutral by 2050. We want to be carbon neutral uh by 2050
  61. Johan says BAT aims to halve its emissions by 2030. we talk about halving our emissions by 2030
  62. Johan says BAT's biggest sustainability impact would come from achieving a smokeless world. The biggest impact we can have on society in terms of sustainability, if we achieve or when we achieve our vision to create a smokeless world
  63. Johan says BAT plants more than two and a half million trees a year in Pakistan. We plant in Pakistan alone more than two and a half million trees every year
  64. Johan says BAT uses drones to check that children are not working on the farms it works with. We use their modern technologies like drones to to to self-control that we make sure that the children are not on the on on the farms
  65. Johan says BAT has contracts with more than 10,000 farmers. We have contracts with uh with more than 10,000 farmers
  66. Johan visited Pakistan a couple of years before this episode. because I was in in Pakistan uh a couple of years ago
  67. Johan says many talented women build careers at PTC. we have also a lot of very talented females who are making fantastic careers in PTC
  68. Johan says he is responsible for BAT's commercial performance in the markets as COO. as COO, I'm I'm responsible for all the commercial uh uh performances in the markets
  69. Johan says he is also responsible for operations, innovation and R&D. But I'm also responsible for operations and innovation and R&D
  70. Johan says 40% of his team is from Pakistan. So 40% of my team is from Pakistan
  71. Johan says BAT is one of the most respected companies in Pakistan. We're one of the most respected companies in in Pakistan
  72. Johan says mobile staff can move between Pakistan, Canada, Brussels and London. If you are mobile, you will be today in in in Pakistan, next year in Canada and and the year after in Brussels or in London
  73. Johan says Pakistan is a talent factory for BAT's group. Pakistan continues to be a talent factory for us as a group
  74. Johan says BAT gets about 15,000 young university leavers each year in Pakistan who want to join. In Pakistan, every year, we get 15,000 people, young people leaving university who want to join us
  75. Johan says people want to be part of BAT's story of creating a smokeless world. You want to be part of that story of creating a smokeless world
  76. Johan says BAT's stated values include passion to win. passion to win. We like to win. We're very competitive
  77. Johan says a company that has produced cigarettes for 100 years is not very skilled at making these devices. if you have produced for 100 years cigarettes, you're not very very much skilled to make these devices
  78. Johan says BAT must acquire some capabilities from outside, such as device technology. we then go to the market and acquire the capabilities that are needed for the future
  79. Johan says BAT localized its input materials to reduce exposure to devaluation and inflation. we also localize as much as possible uh uh basically our input materials to be less dependent on devaluation, inflation
  80. Johan says BAT plays a long-term game and expects economies to rise and fall. but but it's a long-term game that you have to play
  81. Johan says BAT can cope with economic ups and downs as long as there are no excise shocks. As long as we don't have that uh these these excise shocks, we can uh we can cope with it
  82. Johan says he hopes consumers of BAT's cigarette brands will move to Velo, which he calls the next big brand. So my dream is that uh these consumers also migrate into the next big brand which is uh which will be Velo