Cigarette maker Lorillard taps Murray Kessler to succeed CEO Martin Orlowsky

Cigarette maker Lorillard names next CEO

RICHMOND, Va. — Cigarette maker Lorillard Inc. said Thursday it has named former Altria executive Murray Kessler to succeed CEO Martin Orlowsky.

The Greensboro, N.C., company said Kessler’s appointment takes effect Sept. 13. The 51-year-old also was elected to the company’s board. Kessler will receive an annual salary of $1.2 million and a $1 million cash signing bonus, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Kessler most recently served as president and CEO of Richmond, Va.-based Altria Group Inc. subsidiary UST, which includes U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company and Ste. Michelle Wine Estates. He joined Altria when UST was purchased in January 2009. He also had worked in consumer packaged goods with Campbell Soup and Clorox.

“Murray’s outstanding background and significant experience in the tobacco industry make us confident that he is the right choice to successfully lead Lorillard going forward,” director Richard Roedel said in a statement.

The nation’s third-biggest tobacco company said Orlowsky also plans to retire as chairman of the board and as a director Dec. 13. The 68-year-old will remain a consultant for the company for two years, at an annual fee of $500,000. Orlowsky has served as president and CEO since January 1999 and became chairman of the board in January 2001.

The maker of Newport, Kent, True and Maverick cigarettes had announced plans in November to begin looking for a replacement for Orlowsky, whose contract expires Dec. 31.

Lorillard, the oldest continuously operating U.S. tobacco company, spun off from Loews Corp. in 2008.