Three years later, Rob Norris is back at Altadis U.S.A., this time as the boss.

The cigar giant announced that Norris has been named the general manager of Altadis U.S.A. He previously served as the sales and trade director for Altadis U.S.A. In January 2014, Norris left Altadis to become the ceo of sister company JR Cigar. Both Altadis U.S.A., which manufacturers and sells cigars, and JR Cigar, a retail cigar operation, are owned by Imperial Brands, plc.

rob-norris

“Rob’s elevation to head Altadis U.S.A. reflects his leadership abilities and significant experience gained in the organization over a number of years,” said Javier Estades, head of Tabacalera U.S.A., in a press release. “Rob brings to this new post a full understanding of the overall premium cigar category.”

Estades will now focus solely on Tabacalera U.S.A., the Imperial division that includes Altadis U.S.A., JR Cigar and Casa de Montecristo, a division of brick and mortar retail stores. Up until now, Estades was serving as both the general manager of Altadis U.S.A and the head of Tabacalera USA.

Altadis U.S.A. is best known as the home of the Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, H. Upmann, Juan Lopez, Trinidad and Trinidad brands in the U.S. It also sells the Vega Fina and Casa de Garcia.

“I am looking forward to getting back into the manufacturer side of the business,”

“With my most recent experience at JR Cigar, I have an understanding of what matters and engages retailers and distributors,” said Norris in a statement to halfwheel. “The market is moving quickly and retail is changing, I see a great opportunity to empower the great brands and people at Altadis U.S.A. to do something special in the coming few years with the already strong long term relationships in the industry.”

Wanda Rosella, cfo of JR Cigar, will serve as the interim head of JR Cigar. The company is executed to announce a new general manager for JR Cigar shortly.

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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 have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.