Jim Young Named Interim CEO, Board Member of Plasencia Cigars

Jim Young, who oversaw Davidoff’s modern transformation in the American market, has been named a board member, interim ceo and advisor for Plasencia Cigars.

With his new role, Young will oversee the daily operations of Plasencia Cigars, the Plasencia family’s cigar brand best known for lines like Alma Fuerte, Alma del Fuego and Cosecha 149.

“We are super excited to bring Jim onto the board and into the interim CEO position,” said Nestor Andrés Plasencia, in a press release. “Jim brings many years of experience and proven results and we are confident that, together with the extraordinary team we have, we can achieve our goal of keep lighting up many souls around the world with our cigars.”

Young will serve in the interim role as the company looks for a permanent ceo.

He spent nearly a decade at Davidoff, starting as president of Davidoff of Geneva USA in mid-2011 before transitioning to chief commercial officer in the spring 2018, which saw him leave his role as head of the American business and move to Europe. In early 2021, Young left Davidoff.

His time at Davidoff was during a major transformation for the Swiss cigar brand. The company integrated and relaunched Camacho, it revamped the Davidoff brand with launches like Davidoff Nicaragua and a new Winston Churchill, made major changes to the AVO portfolio and expanded its U.S. retail operations with new stores in Atlanta, Houston and New York; as well as franchise stores in Las Vegas and Tampa.

“I am delighted to join Nestor Andres and the team at Plasencia 1865,” said Young. “This is a company that has tremendous potential and is an organization that is highly values-driven and is deeply committed to quality, consistency and sustainability. I am proud to become part of what I truly believe will be a very successful journey.”

Prior to his time at Davidoff, Young had a lengthy career at Diageo.