Our Leadership

Guy Meldrum, President and CEO of Reynolds American Inc., the largest operating company within the global BAT Group, is a transformational leader with more than 25 years of international experience in the Consumer-Packaged Goods (CPG) industry.

Guy started his career at BAT in 1992 in Australia as a graduate trainee in Sales and Marketing and has since built a career spanning the UK, Switzerland, Australia, Hong Kong, Korea, Russia and now the U.S. He previously held roles as President of BAT Korea, Area Director of North Asia and Area Director for BAT Australasia, as well as Regional Director, Asia-Pacific & Middle East before joining the Reynolds team as CEO in the Fall of 2020. He also serves on BAT’s global Management Board.

With the U.S. market playing a pivotal role in BAT’s vision to build A Better Tomorrow by reducing the health impact of its business, Guy is focused on transformation across the Reynolds organization at scale. As the group moves to become a consumer-centric, multi-category consumer goods company that goes beyond nicotine, with sustainability at its core, Guy is driving the digital transformation, innovation and cultural shift needed to make this transition.

Guy’s track record of delivering transformational change and excellent business results, combined with a passion for people development, has helped prepare him to lead Reynolds through unprecedented challenges. These include COVID-19, the impacts of geopolitical conflicts, and an increasingly competitive landscape, all while implementing a multi-faceted, integrated change program to build a diversified company fit for the future.

A firm believer in coaching and leadership development to create high-performing teams, he is passionate about fostering the right environment for people to fulfill their potential. With a focus on people and proven experience leading through change, Guy is forging the way to combine the group’s existing and new capabilities to successfully transform Reynolds.

As Executive Vice President, Marketing, for Reynolds, Jorge Araya is responsible for all U.S. marketing functions, including consumer, trade and digital marketing. In this role, Araya supports the global strategy through a sharp focus on driving U.S. volume share growth, as well as increasing U.S. revenue from the Group’s strategic portfolio. Prior to joining Reynolds, Araya was President and CEO of Imperial Tobacco Canada, an indirect subsidiary of BAT. Under his leadership, Imperial delivered consistent and sustainable revenue and underlying operating profit (UOP) growth, consolidated its combustibles portfolio, successfully introduced Vype into the market and strengthened organizational capabilities and the talent pipeline. Araya began his career with British American Tobacco in Chile in 1995 and over the last 25 years has held a number of progressive senior leadership roles at both the end-market and regional levels within the AmSSA region, including Head of Brands Mexico, Marketing Director Chile, Marketing Director Brazil and Head of Marketing Americas region. Araya has a bachelor’s degree in Economics and Business Administration from Universidad Catolica (PUC) Chile. He reads as much as he can, with his favorite publications being The Economist and F1 Magazine, plus all books by James Patterson.

Richard Bakker became the Executive Vice President of Finance at Reynolds American Inc. in late 2019. Bakker joined BAT Group in 1997 and spent most of his career in finance roles across Europe and Asia Pacific. Among these, he was Regional Finance Controller, Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong, and Group Finance Controller based in Globe House, U.K. In 2018, he was appointed as Area Director, Western Europe. Together with his team, Bakker successfully launched the Vype Epen 3 in France, and within a year, he positioned BAT France as the leading company in the Vapor category. In the U.K. market, he and his team continued to build a retail leadership position. Bakker holds Dutch nationality. He is a native of Holland and received education through IMD; Switzerland and INSEAD; France.

Bernd Meyer became Executive Vice President – Operations within the Reynolds American group on January 1, 2021, and he has more than 25 years of experience in the BAT Group. Prior to assuming his current role, he served as BAT Group’s Operations Manager - Europe and North Africa (ENA), significantly improving factory performance and KPI’s in the ENA factories and prior to that he served as Regional Operations Manager Western Europe. As Operations Director-Ukraine he led a factory reconstruction and organizational design review and as Area Operations Director - Southern Africa, Bernd led a major cultural change within the Heidelberg factory Operations team, combined with a new to market fit for purpose Secondary Supply Chain design. Bernd also served as Global Head of Supply Chain, Operations Director – Germany, and Head of Western Europe Manufacturing. Bernd is a key member of the Global Operations leadership team and makes significant contributions on shaping the global operations strategy.

Dr. Priscilla Samuel became Executive Vice President, Scientific Research and Development within the Reynolds American group in March of 2023. In her role, she oversees the Reynolds organization’s scientific research and product development efforts on Tobacco Harm Reduction and Beyond Nicotine as well as regulatory strategies and advocacy efforts, accelerating the delivery of the global BAT Group’s A Better Tomorrow™ corporate purpose in the U.S.

Dr. Samuel is an experienced Research & Development executive, a seasoned business leader, and scientist, with strategic global expertise in scientific & regulatory affairs, clinical & pre-clinical research, innovation, and key-opinion leader engagement. Before joining Reynolds, Dr. Samuel held a variety of executive roles with companies across the food, supplement, ingredient, and nutrition sectors including PepsiCo, Mead Johnson / Bristol Myers Squibb, Tate & Lyle, PureCircle Ltd., and Standard Process Inc.

Dr. Samuel received her Ph.D. in Human Nutrition with minors in Public Health and Business/Marketing from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, an M.S. in Human Nutrition from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and a B.S. in Nutrition, Dietetics & Child Development from Bangalore University.

Jeff Raborn is Executive Vice President of Law and External Affairs and General Counsel of Reynolds American Inc.

Before assuming his current role in 2018, Raborn was Senior Vice President, Litigation and Regulatory, and Deputy General Counsel within the RAI Group. He has been part of the law leadership team since 2008, when he was named Vice President, Litigation, and Assistant General Counsel at RJRT, working with smoking and health litigation. He also previously served as the chairman of the Reynolds American Foundation.

Prior to joining Reynolds, Raborn practiced law in New Orleans and Baton Rouge and represented clients including Ford, Hyundai, Toyota, Kia, Black & Decker, Exxon, and Shell in product and premises liability cases. He also represented several companies including Exxon, Texaco, Shell, and Chevron before the Louisiana Public Service Commission. His trial career included important wins for his clients at both the trial and appellate levels. He credits much of his success in the corporate world to his experience as a trial lawyer - understanding your audience and knowing what moves them is vital, no matter the setting – whether a jury, a CEO, or a board of directors.

A native of Amite, La., Raborn earned a bachelor’s degree in history and a juris doctorate degree from Louisiana State University. He is active in the community serving as mentor and coach to hundreds of local youth as well as serving on the boards of a number of non-profit charitable organizations and, most recently, served as chairman of the Reynolds American Foundation. He is or has been a member of the American, Federal, and Louisiana Bar Associations, the Defense Research Institute, and The Conference Board.

Anna Dolgikh was appointed Senior Vice President of Human Resources (HR) at Reynolds American in September of 2020. Dolgikh joined the BAT Group in 2000 and has spent most of her career in HR roles across Europe and Asia Pacific. Among these, she was the Head of HR for the Asia Pacific and Middle East Region, Regional Head of HR Eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa, based in Globe House, U.K. In April 2019, she was appointed as Group Head of Talent and Organizational Effectiveness. Together with her team, Dolgikh has focused on the modernization and simplification of the BAT Group’s Talent practices, strengthening its position as an Employer of Choice, and enabling the Group with the capabilities critical to delivering A Better Tomorrow. Dolgikh has British and Russian nationality, and her educational background is in Business and Systems Engineering.

Aaron Gwinner is the Senior Vice President of Information and Digital Technology (IDT) within the RAI Group. Prior to joining the Group, Gwinner was the Global Leader of IT Transformation and Capabilities with The Coca-Cola Company. With more than 26 years in the IT industry, he led several global efforts and dynamic teams, such as the CIO for Marketing, Digital and Public Affairs; CIO Eurasia, North Asia and Middle East (based in Moscow, Russia); and as CIO Global Customers. A native of Atlanta, Ga., Gwinner holds a master’s degree in business administration from J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University, bachelor of science degree in Information Systems from Michael J. Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University and received his Global Business Management Certificate from the European Union. Gwinner also served with distinction in the U.S. Army and is a Gulf War Veteran who was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for Meritorious Achievement in Desert Storm.

Sharonda (Shay) Mustafa was appointed to the role of Senior Vice President, Business Communications & Sustainability at Reynolds American Inc. in April of 2021. In this role, Shay leads the Reynolds American companies’ corporate communications and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives and helps accelerate the delivery of the BAT Group’s A Better Tomorrow™ corporate purpose. Prior to assuming her current role, she served as Senior Vice President, Consumer Marketing where she led the Modern Oral business unit. Over her tenure with the organization, Mustafa has held a range of brand marketing leadership positions including leading Newport, Pall Mall and Grizzly. Mustafa’s previous professional background ranges from senior roles with Fortune 100 companies to co-founder of a technology start up. She earned her MBA in Marketing from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, where she was awarded the program’s highest honor, the Gower Outstanding Leadership Award, and a BA in Business Administration from Rhodes College. Mustafa is an avid supporter of S.T.E.M. education and early-stage entrepreneurship.

Matthew Tarallo is the Senior Vice President, Business Development of Reynolds American Inc. In this role, Tarallo leads Reynolds American’s Beyond Nicotine agenda and coordinates US action in this space with BAT global strategies, exploring innovative opportunities to build a diverse portfolio that is fit for future growth. Prior to joining Reynolds American, Tarallo was a Global Vice President with The Coca-Cola Company. Tarallo is a graduate of Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.