Cornelius & Anthony Add Courtney Smith, Spence Drake

Cornelius & Anthony, a relatively new cigar company based in Keysville, Va., has announced two notable hires: Spence Drake and Courtney Smith.

Drake joins the company as its national sales director, he held a similar position at Cubanacan until resigning in May and previously worked in that role at A.J. Fernandez before that. The company says he will focus on developing regional and national accounts.

“This is such an exciting opportunity,” said Drake in a press release. “Cornelius & Anthony’s potential is tremendous, and I am proud to be part of the team that launches it.”

As for Smith, she is now the company’s director of business development. This comes after spending five-years at La Palina Cigars as the company’s vice-president.

“I am so proud to be joining such a respected family and a company that prides itself on Meridian quality,” said Smith. “I look forward to working with this team – keep your eyes open for what we have in store!”

Cornelius & Anthony is part of S&M Brands, best known for its Bailey’s cigarettes brand. The Bailey family launched the premium cigar company last year with the Avant Garde brand.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I handle the editing of our written content, the majority of the technical aspects of the site and work with the rest of our staff on content management, business development and more. I’ve lived in most corners of the country and now entering my second stint in Dallas, Texas. I enjoy boxing, headphones, the Le Mans 24-hour, wearing sweatshirts year-round and gyros. echte liebe.