Stacey Kennedy leads a team of more than 200 employees at Philip Morris International’s new headquarters in downtown Stamford, at a pivotal moment in the company’s history.
Kennedy became the president of PMI’s Americas region and CEO of its U.S. business in January 2023.
History notwithstanding, PMI is working to distance itself from cigarette sales in the United States, and to usher in a smoke-free future.
The company is focused on growing its business with tobacco-free products, such as its Zyn pouches, which deliver nicotine orally.
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PMI also sells its flagship heated tobacco product, IQOS, across the U.S. The device mimics the experience of smoking a cigarette, but without burning tobacco.
The products are geared toward customers who would otherwise smoke cigarettes, but are looking for an alternative.
While PMI’s products remain controversial, Kennedy reminds skeptics that cigarettes are “the most harmful form of nicotine.”
PMI says its goal is to achieve a cigarette-free future.
In the summer of 2022, PMI moved its U.S. base from Manhattan to the former UBS international banking headquarters at 677 Washington Blvd., in Stamford.
Kennedy serves on the board of AdvanceCT, a nonprofit that works to retain and recruit businesses to Connecticut.
She began her career with Philip Morris USA in 1995 as a territory sales manager. She held numerous roles of increasing responsibility during her career, including as managing director for Germany, Austria, Croatia and Slovenia from 2015 to 2018.
Kennedy earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and cultural anthropology from Randolph College in Virginia, and an executive MBA from IMD in Switzerland.