Directorate Change

British American Tobacco PLC
10 November 2003


Succession Plans at British American Tobacco

The Board of British American Tobacco plc announces that Martin Broughton (56)
is to retire at the end of June 2004 after 10 years leading the Group as Chief
Executive and, for the last five, as Chairman.  Jan du Plessis (49), currently
one of the Group's Non-Executive Directors, will become Non-Executive Chairman
on 1 July 2004.

Paul Adams (50), Managing Director, will be promoted to Chief Executive on 1
January 2004 to ensure a smooth transition. Antonio Monteiro de Castro (58),
Director - Latin-America & Caribbean, will become Chief Operating Officer from
the same date.  He will be succeeded on the Management Board by Flavio de
Andrade (55), President of Souza Cruz, the Group's Brazilian subsidiary, who in
turn will be succeeded by Nicandro Durante, currently Finance Director of Souza
Cruz.

Jan du Plessis joined the British American Tobacco Board following the
successful merger with Rothmans in 1999.  He has degrees in commerce and law
from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, and is a Chartered
Accountant.  He joined the Rembrandt Group in 1981 and held various positions
before becoming Group Finance Director of Richemont, the Swiss public company
which was formed in 1988 following the demerger of Rembrandt's non-South African
interests.

In 1990, Jan took on the additional role of Group Finance Director of Rothmans
International when it was a member of the FTSE 100 Index.  As Finance Director
of both groups he was intimately involved in the subsequent restructuring of
Richemont's tobacco and luxury goods interests, leading to the formation of
Vendome Luxury Group alongside Rothmans International.  Following the merger of
Rothmans and British American Tobacco, he was involved with the integration of
Vendome and Richemont, as a result of which Richemont became a focused luxury
goods group with a major shareholding in British American Tobacco.

Jan will leave Richemont by April 2004.  He will be based at British American
Tobacco's corporate headquarters and will devote up to half his time to his role
as part-time Chairman.  Jan also intends to pursue opportunities in the private
equity field and possibly take on one or two other non-executive positions.

The selection process involved benchmarking and interviewing a number of
internal and external candidates, using the services of an executive search firm
specialising in board level recruitment.   The initial stages were overseen by
the Nominations Committee, chaired for this purpose by Kenneth Clarke, the
Deputy Chairman and Senior Independent Director.  The candidates were then
formally interviewed by Martin Broughton, Kenneth Clarke and Rupert Pennant-Rea,
Chairman of the Audit Committee, and subsequently by Paul Adams, before the
proposal to appoint Jan du Plessis was put to the Board as a whole.

The appointment is supported by the Group's shareholders.

Martin Broughton is to become Non-Executive Chairman of British Airways,
succeeding Lord Marshall, with effect from the Company's Annual General Meeting
in July 2004.  Commenting on Jan du Plessis' appointment, Martin Broughton said:
"Having thoroughly reviewed both external and internal candidates, the Board is
unanimous in its view that Jan is the right choice, given his deep knowledge and
understanding of the tobacco industry.  He has demonstrated true independence of
mind in his contribution to the Board and has outstanding strategic and
financial skills.

"From my point of view, leaving British American Tobacco after over 30 years
will be a strange feeling.  However, the Group is very much on track to achieve
leadership in the tobacco industry and, after 10 years at the top, it's time for
me to hand over the challenge.  Paul is ready to take on the role of Chief
Executive and I am confident that he and Jan will make an outstanding team and
serve shareholders well".


Enquiries

British American Tobacco Press Office            Investor Relations
David Betteridge/Ann Tradigo/Teresa La Thangue   Ralph Edmondson/Rachael Cummins
[phone] (24 hours)                  [phone] or 1519


Notes:

The Main Board will consist of 11 Directors.  There will be eight Non-Executive
Directors, six of whom are independent.  Kenneth Clarke, Deputy Chairman is the
Senior Independent Director.  Responsibility for implementing the Group's
strategy is delegated to the Management Board.

With Jan du Plessis becoming Non-Executive Chairman of the Main Board, the
Management Board will be Chaired by Paul Adams.  On the Management Board, the
Regional Directors and the Operations and IT Director will report to Antonio
Monteiro de Castro in his role as Chief Operating Officer, while the Functional
Directors will report to Paul Adams.

Photographs of Martin Broughton, Paul Adams and Jan du Plessis are available to
the media at www.newscast.co.uk


                      This information is provided by RNS
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