Not Everyone’s Friend

Luis C. Camilleri has a job the many ambitious executive would want to have, being the chairman and CEO of a large multinational company. Yet this company is not a friend to everyone which means it has a lot of detractors. The company we are talking about is Phillip Morris. This is the largest tobacco company in the world if one does not include the state-controlled China National Tobacco. It’s most popular brand is Marlboro.

The tobacco business is quite profitable with more than 1 billion tobacco users in the world based on facts from the World Health Organization.  According to the U.S. Public Health Service around 45% of U.S. smokers try to quit each year with only 4% to 7% of them able to do so.

The company does admit that tobacco products are addictive and harmful. They like to point out though that the company has been following regulations and that they are a legitimate business and not operating underground. 

Many executives would perhaps want to work in a company with a better public image. For Luis Camilleri though he hasn’t had any other job since joining the Philip Morris. Camilleri can be described as an international citizen. He was born in Alexandria, Egypt in 1955 but his family comes from Malta.

Since age 9 Camilleri had attended British boarding schools. He is fluent in English, French, Italian, and a bit of German.  In 1976, Camilleri obtained a degree in Economics and Business Administration from Lausanne University in Switzerland.

Camilleri’s first job was as a business analyst with W.R. Grace & Company in Lausanne. He then joined Philip Morris International Inc. in 1978 as a business development analyst with Philip Morris Europe. Camilleri rose through the corporate ranks being promoted to positions of higher responsibilities. He played a big role in developing the emerging markets of Eastern Europe.

Camilleri had been chairman of Kraft Foods from 2002 to 2007 and chairman and CEO of Altria Group since 2002. He became the chairman and CEO of Philip Morris International on March 2008 after the company was spun off from Altria Group, Inc.

Given the negative image of the tobacco industry in general Camilleri plays a challenging role in helping to manage the perception of the industry.  He has been up to the task and his company has also been making handsome profits.