Change to Board of Directors

British American Tobacco PLC
26 April 2000

                                    

                      MANAGEMENT BOARD APPOINTMENTS
                       AT BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO

With effect from 1st August 2000, Neil Withington (43) will be joining
the Management Board of British American Tobacco as Legal Director,
following the retirement of Stuart Chalfen.

Neil is currently the group's Deputy General Counsel.  An Oxford law
graduate and barrister, Neil joined the group in 1993 after a career at
the Bar and in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries where he
specialised in commercial law, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures
and corporate restructuring.  He has had a broad range of national and
international assignments within the British American Tobacco legal function
including managing the UK-based product liability litigation group,
international government relations, major commercial transactions and
intellectual property and brand protection management.

With effect from 1st January 2001, Tessa Raeburn (49) will be joining
the Management Board as Human Resources Director following the
retirement of David Stevens.  Tessa is currently a partner of the
Raeburn Keslake consultancy which has worked with British American
Tobacco for four years providing key international development
programmes for senior managers and she will be joining the group on 1st
October 2000 to work alongside David Stevens until he retires.

Tessa is a Chartered Occupational Psychologist and an Associate Fellow
of the British Psychological Society.  Most of her commercial
experience has been gained working with blue-chip companies, both
internally and as an external consultant.  For over six years, Tessa
worked for 3M(UK) where she was the company's first Organisation and
Management Development Manager.  As a partner in Raeburn Keslake since
1983, she has worked internationally, creating and facilitating
innovative, custom-built, organisational change and management
development programmes.

Commenting on the appointments of Tessa Raeburn and Neil Withington to
the Management Board, Martin Broughton, Chairman of British American
Tobacco, said:

'I warmly welcome Tessa and Neil to the Management Board.  Their
respective predecessors have both made outstanding contributions and
will be hard acts to follow but I am convinced that we have two worthy
successors, one from within the group and one from outside.  Tessa will
bring an external perspective, as well as the knowledge of British
American Tobacco she has gained through her involvement in our
management development programmes over the past four years.'


For further information, please contact:

British American Tobacco Press Office:  020 7845 2888
Fran Morrison, Dave Betteridge, Jody Humble