Christian Eiroa Replacing Mike Conder on PCA’s Executive Committee

Beginning March 25, 2024, Christian Eiroa, founder of CLE Cigar Co., will be the associate liaison on the Premium Cigar Association’s (PCA) Executive Committee.

The Executive Committee has six voting members—five retailers and the associate liaison, a representative from a cigar company or supplier—as well as the executive director, a non-voting position. The associate liaison is a relatively new position, launched in early 2022 when the PCA announced changes to both the Executive Committee and Board of Directors. This move added more manufacturers to the two boards, which have long been controlled by cigar retailers.

Mike Conder, co-founder of Crowned Heads, served as the first associate liaison. Eiroa and Alan Rubin, then the owner of Alec Bradley, were announced as two of the first four cigar manufacturers to sit on the PCA’s 19-person Board of Directors.

“I am honored and proud to serve on this board,” said Eiroa in a press release. “I believe this is a historic period in time for our industry and the association and I look forward to serving and being a part of the executive committee.”

The powerful Executive Committee has dictated the direction of the organization for many years. Its retail members serve decade-long terms, spending two years in each of the five current positions. The associate liaison position was a two-year term for Mike Conder, who previously served as the president of the PCA’s Associate Member Advisory Board, its cigar manufacturers’ advisory board.

“I know I speak for many past presidents, with whom Mike (Conder) served, but I want to thank Mike for the many years of tireless service to the PCA,” said Scott Regina, president of the PCA and owner of Emerson’s Cigars, in a press release. “He was integral to many of the legal, legislative, and overall organizational strategies that we have developed and deployed over the years. We are definitely better off because of his involvement.”