LAUSANNE — Philip Morris International has made two senior hires, appointing Gregoire Verdeaux as global SVP, external affairs and Janine Mantle as its new UK and Ireland corporate communications director.

Verdeaux joins PMI, which is transforming its business model from cigarettes to smoke-free and “reduced risk” products, from Hering Schuppener, where he had been a partner since January this year.

He was previously at Vodafone’s group international policy director for five years, overseeing the coordination of policy, lobbying, antitrust, competition and compliance. Before that, Verdeaux was European policy director at Electricité De France (EDF), where he proposed and designed group positions for negotiations with the EU, and has also held various senior policy roles within the French public sector and NGOs.

In his new role, Verdeaux will report to CEO André Calantzopoulos, who said: “Gregoire’s range of experiences – from working for national and EU parliaments and governments, the UN, WHO, as well as private companies undergoing significant transformation – has given him a unique understanding of how political decisions are made. This makes him an ideal candidate to join us at PMI and help adapt the regulatory environment applicable to reduced risk products, as we continue our transformation to a smoke-free company.”

His appointment follows the previous announcement of long-serving executive Marc Firestone’s intention to retire from the dual roles of president, external affairs and general counsel, and the appointment of Suzanne Rich Folsom as SVP and general counsel this summer.

At the same time, Mantle has joined the firm as its new corporate communications director for the UK and Ireland, to help the business contribute to the UK Government’s plan to be smoke-free by 2030.

Mantle joins PML from the HS2 high-speed railway project, where she spent six years as corporate affairs director, leading consumer-facing campaigns and making the case for a new railway in Britain.

Before that, Mantle was director of media relations for British Gas, where she was responsible for PR, media relations and crisis communications. She has also worked in government, local government, and with NGOs.

Mantle reports to PMI’s UK & Ireland managing director Peter Nixon, and joins his leadership team.