Werner Barth Email & Phone Number

Lausanne, Vd, Ch

Lausanne, Ch

Lausanne, Ch

As senior vice president commercial at PMI, in addition to accountabilities for our combustible business, I am highly involved in accelerating PMI’s historic business shift toward smoke-free products. Along with my team, I oversee the end-to-end deployment of our smoke-free products across the company’s global operating footprint and ensure seamless development and deployment of these products.As PMI moves from a traditional B2B company with a single product portfolio to become a science and technology leader within the tobacco industry, with a range of electronic-based smoke-free products, the business requires a fundamentally different commercial approach. Under my leadership, we have spearheaded a new approach to our commercial planning and deployment of these products—combining and centralizing efforts at the global level to support markets in rapidly scaling their efforts at speed—to address the changing dynamics of our business today. Thanks to this new structure and operating model, my team has helped grow PMI’s global footprint for smoke-free products to more than 60 markets today—something that was unimaginable just five years ago.

Lausanne, Ch

Lausanne, Ch

Taking on the role as senior vice president, marketing & sales, I joined PMI’s senior management team in 2015, responsible for PMI’s combustible portfolio. Here, my team and I focused on supporting markets across PMI’s global operating footprint to retain PMI’s leadership in the category while generating substantial efficiencies to sustain strong investment behind PMI’s new range of smoke-free products as the company set out to completely transform its business and achieve a smoke-free future.

Gräfelfing, Bavaria, De

After four years in the Benelux cluster, I returned to Germany as managing director (MD) for Philip Morris (PM) Germany and Austria—one of PMI’s largest markets. During my tenure, my team accomplished what was fairly unique in anyone`s career: revamping one of the company’s most iconic brands. Using detailed consumer insights, in the space of six months we developed and launched a cutting-edge marketing campaign that was instrumental in recapturing market share and driving profitability, placing Germany firmly within the growth algorithm of PMI’s global business today.

In 2007, I was appointed to my first general management role as managing director (MD) for Philip Morris (PM) Benelux, heading up a cluster of very diverse, highly regulated markets for tobacco products. To successfully and quickly adapt to this new environment, I had to learn new skills—notably in external affairs—in order to effectively engage with decision-makers, diverse stakeholders, and the media. I also had a huge responsibility for the people under my charge: from ensuring they were equipped with the right skills and tools to meet business needs, to building rapport with the diverse groups of employees across the business—from the sales force to function leaders and everything in-between, listening to better understand the issues they faced which in turn, helped me become a more empathetic, inclusive leader.

Gräfelfing, Bavaria, De

After more than a decade in marketing roles, in 2004, I moved back to Germany to join the sales management team as sales director—a first for a marketer in Philip Morris (PM) Germany. This meant learning to lead a new arm of the business, learning to navigate its culture and ways of working, and managing the budget and financials for a sizeable market like Germany. I also learned a lot about people— the importance of being humble and actively listen to others’ perspectives—while honing my negotiation skills to find solutions and avoid business disruption.

In 2002, I moved to Philip Morris (PM) Spain as marketing director overseeing its entire portfolio of brands. During this time, my team and I grew PMI’s most iconic brand to No. 1 in the country, overtaking a local brand that had previously dominated.

Gräfelfing, Bavaria, De

I joined Philip Morris (PM) Germany in 1990 as a marketing trainee eager for real-world experience and the chance to work for a leading FMCG known for its marketing and portfolio of iconic brands. During my trainee program, I cut my teeth as a field sales representative building rapport with customers (retailers and wholesalers), learning about the diverse needs of adult consumers, and exceeding my sales targets—and those of long-standing peers in my team. In 1992, upon completing my traineeship at PM Germany, I was offered several positions within the company, each with increasing levels of responsibility:• Marketing/Sales Trainee: 1990-1992• Junior Brand Manager for Marlboro 1992-1994• Brand Supervisor for Philip Morris (the brand) 1994-1995 • Product Manager Philip Morris Brand family 1995-1996• Product Manager Marlboro 1996-1997• Group Product Manager Marlboro 1997-1998• Marketing Manager Marlboro 1998-2002This experience—learning how to build different brands, applying a mix of marketing tools, media and event planning, engaging with Legal Age Smokers, and activations at retail touchpoints— helped me develop creative judgement and a feel for brand differentiation to drive consumer preference and high equity brands. This helped me become a much better marketer and was critical to my future success as I progressed into more senior roles in the company.