United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandAmanda Pierce made communications head at Philip Morris

Tobacco giant Philip Morris Limited has hired Amanda Pierce as head of communications, a newly created position.

Pierce will join Philip Morris Limited, the U.K. and Ireland affiliate of Philip Morris International, on September 3. She will be based in London and report to Mark MacGregor, Philip Morris Limited’s corporate affairs director.

Philip Morris Limited is responsible for the merchandising of Philip Morris International brands in the U.K. Pierce is joining Philip Morris International at a time when it’s trying to replace cigarettes with e-cigarettes and heated tobacco in some markets. Her remit includes corporate PR, external comms, stakeholder engagement, CSR, campaigns, and employee engagement in the U.K. and Ireland.

During her nine-year run at Burson-Marsteller, Pierce also served as head of corporate and crisis for the U.K. and EMEA, and director and MD for the corporate, issues, and technology practice before that. Shell, DeBeers, Kimberly-Clark, Danone, and GSK were some of her clients as well as a collaboration with Harvard Business School that resulted in a training program for the top 450 executives of Bayer to help them engage stakeholders.

Prior to serving at Burson-Marsteller, Pierce had a 16-year tenure at McDonald’s, serving as head of PR and internal comms, and media relations manager. A statement credited her with reversing falling sales and increasing McDonald’s trust scores by 10 points over the course of two years.

Philip Morris International Inc. is an American multinational cigarette and tobacco manufacturing company, with products sold in over 180 countries outside the United States. The most recognized and best selling product of the company is Marlboro. 

Philip Morris International announced it was quitting cigarettes in January 2018.

2018
Head of Communications