Christine Hewitt Lanza, the director of legislative affairs for the Cigar Association of America (CAA) will be leaving her role to take a related position at Swisher International.
Hewitt Lanza joined CAA, one of the three largest cigar industry trade groups, in January 2013. She will now become the director of government affairs at Swisher International, the world’s largest cigarmaker and the parent company of Drew Estate. Per an email sent to colleagues, Hewitt Lanza implied that Swisher’s new Washington D.C.-based office will be open in 2019.
The Cigar Association of America represents a mixture of cigar interests including both premium cigars and mass market cigars. In the last decade, many premium cigar manufacturers have chosen to contribute more to other organizations or direct causes, citing conflicts with the larger mass market companies at CAA.
Tomorrow will be Hewitt Lanza’s last day at CAA.