Scandinavian Tobacco Group Promotes Steve Abbot to General Cigar Co.’s Director of Marketing

The marketing department at General Cigar Co. has a new leader, as Scandinavian Tobacco Group (STG) has announced that Steve Abbot has been promoted to become the new director of marketing.

Abbot has been with the company since 2014 and has managed the Cohiba, CAO, Partagas and La Gloria Cubana brands. According to a press release, he is credited with driving the evolution of Macanudo, including the development and expansion of Macanudo’s Inspirado and M Flavors lines. He has also been responsible for the relaunch and expansion of General Cigar’s website, CigarWorld.com.

In his new role, he will oversee the marketing of all handmade brands in the General Cigar portfolio and oversee the brand marketing team, which itself has recently added some new personnel. John Hakim, the brand manager for Punch, Odyssey and Chillin’ Moose, joined the company in early January. Olga Kokę, assistant brand manager for the El Rey del Mundo and Bolivar brands as well as special projects, joined in December 2021. Jean Romanowicz, the international brand manager, is also fairly new to the company, having started in late January.

Abbot will report directly to Chris Tarr, vice president of marketing for STG’s North American Branded and Rest of World divisions.

“Our focus on bringing excitement to the premium cigar category through innovative collaborations, out-of-category partnerships, and impactful brand engagements has met with a great response from the trade and cigar-smoking community,” Tarr said in a press release. “As the trajectory of our brands continues, we have bolstered the expertise of our current marketing team by shifting roles and adding new talent, which ultimately allows us to provide deeper support to our brands on a global level.”

Finally, STG has announced that it is currently recruiting for both a manager of brand experiences to support its event platform, as well as an additional brand manager.