British American Tobacco PLC (BAT) has announced the appointment of Uta Kemmerich-Keil as an independent non-executive director. She will also become a member of the audit and nominations committees.

Kemmerich-Keil currently serves as a member of the supervisory board and chair of the audit committee at manufacturing multinational Beiersdorf.

In her executive career, Kemmerich-Keil held the role of chief executive officer, Personal Healthcare International, at P&G from 2018 to 2020 and, prior to that, spent 19 years at Merck Group. At Merck, she held several roles, including CEO of its consumer health division; chief executive officer, Allegropharma; global business unit head, Allergy; and head of corporate M&A, Treasury and Finance. Prior to joining Merck Group, Kemmerich-Keil was a senior financial auditor at Hoechst AG.

Commenting on the appointment, Luc Jobin, chair of the board, said: “I am pleased to welcome Uta Kemmerich-Keil to our board. Her strong general management background in regulated industries, combined with her experience in consumer, digital and strategic transformation will be beneficial as BAT continues on its ambition to build a smokeless world.”