Philip Morris CEO departs

Cliff Fleet

Cliff Fleet

One of the top executives of a local Fortune 500 subsidiary is out.

Cliff Fleet, who until recent weeks was president and CEO of Philip Morris USA, the cigarette manufacturing arm of local tobacco giant Altria Group, is no longer with the company, an Altria spokesman confirmed Thursday.

Fleet “informed the company of his decision to leave in April,” spokesman Steve Callahan said in an email. K.C. Crosthwaite, previously vice president of strategy and business development for Philip Morris USA, was appointed to replace Fleet as president and CEO.

The company would not confirm Fleet’s ending date. His name and bio has been removed from the company’s website. They most recently appeared on the website May 29, according to an archived copy of the page.

Fleet joined Philip Morris USA in 1995, holding management and leadership positions in investor relations, sales, operations, market information and finance, according to that bio.

Prior to serving as president and CEO, in which he oversaw Philip Morris USA and fellow Altria manufacturing subsidiary John Middleton, he served as vice president and general manager of Marlboro, responsible for Marlboro’s entire product portfolio. Before that, he served as vice president of strategy and business development for Altria Client Services.

A Charlottesville native, Fleet graduated from William & Mary and has served on the board of directors for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and the board of trustees for the William & Mary Foundation. He is a member of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers. The bio says he also coaches several youth athletic teams.

Altria is headquartered at 6601 W. Broad St.

Altria is headquartered at 6601 W. Broad St.

Fleet directly owned 83,780 shares of common stock and indirectly owned 1,071 shares as of Feb. 9, according to SEC filings. The company’s stock closed Thursday at $75.40.

Philip Morris USA relocated its headquarters from New York City to a 250,000-square-foot facility at Reynolds Crossing in Henrico County in 2004. Its Southside manufacturing facility along Interstate 95 has been in operation since 1973.

According to the company, cigarettes produced at the 43-acre, 1.6 million-square-foot facility represent half of all cigarettes sold in the U.S. The company also operates a tobacco-processing facility adjacent to Bermuda Hundred in Chester.

Last year, Altria announced it was eliminating 490 salaried employees over several months, including 200 to 250 in Richmond. As of the end of 2016, Altria and its subsidiaries employed about 8,300 workers, according to its latest annual report.

Altria’s net revenue for 2016 totaled $25.74 billion. It reported profits for the year totaling $14.24 billion.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported Altria announced layoffs this year. The job cuts were announced in 2016. 

Cliff Fleet

Cliff Fleet

One of the top executives of a local Fortune 500 subsidiary is out.

Cliff Fleet, who until recent weeks was president and CEO of Philip Morris USA, the cigarette manufacturing arm of local tobacco giant Altria Group, is no longer with the company, an Altria spokesman confirmed Thursday.

Fleet “informed the company of his decision to leave in April,” spokesman Steve Callahan said in an email. K.C. Crosthwaite, previously vice president of strategy and business development for Philip Morris USA, was appointed to replace Fleet as president and CEO.

The company would not confirm Fleet’s ending date. His name and bio has been removed from the company’s website. They most recently appeared on the website May 29, according to an archived copy of the page.

Fleet joined Philip Morris USA in 1995, holding management and leadership positions in investor relations, sales, operations, market information and finance, according to that bio.

Prior to serving as president and CEO, in which he oversaw Philip Morris USA and fellow Altria manufacturing subsidiary John Middleton, he served as vice president and general manager of Marlboro, responsible for Marlboro’s entire product portfolio. Before that, he served as vice president of strategy and business development for Altria Client Services.

A Charlottesville native, Fleet graduated from William & Mary and has served on the board of directors for the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation and the board of trustees for the William & Mary Foundation. He is a member of the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers. The bio says he also coaches several youth athletic teams.

Altria is headquartered at 6601 W. Broad St.

Altria is headquartered at 6601 W. Broad St.

Fleet directly owned 83,780 shares of common stock and indirectly owned 1,071 shares as of Feb. 9, according to SEC filings. The company’s stock closed Thursday at $75.40.

Philip Morris USA relocated its headquarters from New York City to a 250,000-square-foot facility at Reynolds Crossing in Henrico County in 2004. Its Southside manufacturing facility along Interstate 95 has been in operation since 1973.

According to the company, cigarettes produced at the 43-acre, 1.6 million-square-foot facility represent half of all cigarettes sold in the U.S. The company also operates a tobacco-processing facility adjacent to Bermuda Hundred in Chester.

Last year, Altria announced it was eliminating 490 salaried employees over several months, including 200 to 250 in Richmond. As of the end of 2016, Altria and its subsidiaries employed about 8,300 workers, according to its latest annual report.

Altria’s net revenue for 2016 totaled $25.74 billion. It reported profits for the year totaling $14.24 billion.

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported Altria announced layoffs this year. The job cuts were announced in 2016. 

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Beth Patterson
Beth Patterson
6 years ago

Hey Jonathan. The employee reductions you mention occurred March, 2016 not this year. The full cost savings were to be realized by the end of 2017. You should issue a correction to your story.