Come the start of 2017, all of Scandinavian Tobacco Group’s North American operations will be the responsibility of Craig Reynolds, according to an announcement made by the tobacco company today.

Reynolds’ appointment puts him at the head of four entities: General Cigar, Cigars International, STG Lane and STG Canada in what the company describes as a way to “reinforce their leading positions under one leadership.” He currently serves as executive vice president for Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) in North America.

Craig-Reynolds

“We are leading in handmade cigars, pipe tobacco and fine cut in the U.S,” Reynolds said via a press release. “In every one of our business entities, we have specialised in bringing either handmade cigars or pipe tobacco and fine cut to specific customer segments. Advancing our collaboration between entities allow us to bring products from across our tobacco categories to all our customers. We believe that this will benefit our customers and drive further growth for our business in the U.S.”

Reynolds has served as president of STG-owned retailer Cigars International (CI) since 2011, and in November 2015 was promoted to evp of global handmade cigar businesses, a new role which was charged with overseeing all premium cigars for STG in both the U.S. and international markets, while he retained his title and role with Cigars International.

“Craig Reynolds has successfully led our entire global handmade cigars business,” noted Niels Frederiksen, ceo of Scandinavian Tobacco Group. “Today, the handmade cigar category is a growth engine in our business and accounts for more than one-fourth of our net sales and profit. We want to reinforce this development by extending Craig Reynolds’ leadership to our entire North American business.”

General Cigars is one of the biggest cigar manufacturers in the United States, with a roster of domestic brands that includes Cohiba, Macanudo, Partagas, La Gloria Cubana, CAO, Punch and Hoyo de Monterrey, among many others. The company also operates a trio of cigar factories in the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua. Cigars International is one of the pre-eminent online and catalog retailers of cigars and pipe tobacco in the U.S., while also operating three retail stores in Pennsylvania.

STG Lane is the leading manufacturer of fine cut and traditional pipe tobacco in the U.S., while STG Canada operates in the cigars and pipe tobacco sector in Canada.

A press release from STG indicates that the four entities will continue to be run as separate, stand-alone businesses with Regis Broersma, Kelly Michols and Sylvain Laporte being presidents of General Cigar, STG Lane and STG Canada, respectively.

Image courtesy of Scandinavian Tobacco Group.

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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.