#Interview
СLA JOB IS TO LOOK FOR AND PURSUE OPPORTUNITIES
OF COMMERCIAL ADVANTAGE TO IMPERIAL
Andrew Gregson, International expert of Imperial Brands for Corporate and Legal Affairs (CLA)
visited Russia and Central Asia Cluster to share experience and introduce best practices
in communications, stakeholder relations and solutions in the field of industry change.
Taking this opportunity, we asked Andrew some questions about the functions of CLA
and its strategic role in the success of our business.
Andrew, you have recently arrived a thrill to be here, even if only for a short
to Moscow on a mission of time. The welcome from our business has
sharing the best CLA been similarly fantastic and I have thoroughly
practices with Russia enjoyed being part of the team in CLA.
and Central Asia
Cluster team. How What exactly is the difference of the new
do you like it here? global approach in the way CLA should operate
Was the reception compared to what it used to be?
welcoming
enough?
That’s simple – CLA is a commercial function.
Moscow
is
nothing
short
of amazing. It is
such a beautiful city – the
architecture, the history, the culture –
it’s like nothing else on Earth. It is simply
It is our job to shape the external environment
to maximize sales and ensure sustainability.
We look for and pursue opportunities of
commercial advantage to Imperial. Through
agility, a “risk versus reward” mindset and
learning from our global peers, we’re able to
ruthlessly pursue NSV.
CLA department consists of four functions: into the minds of the right people – including
regulatory and government affairs, legal, some of our key advocates: our employees.
internal and external communications. Why
does CLA comprise all four in its structure?
What changes await CLA function in RU and
CA Cluster? What practices, approaches and
Each of our CLA functions deals with those methods of cooperation within and outside of
who can influence our business. Government the organization need fine-tuning to your mind?
is an obvious example, but our network
of external stakeholders is quite wide. We
maintain relationships that can help us to
deliver our commercial objectives. Ensuring
we comply with regulations is a large part of
the legal function, but finding opportunities
for our business is another key part – which
we’re quite good at in Russia and Central
Asia. Communications is a key role as, if it is
executed well, we can get our key messages
CLA will fully embrace our commercial
mindset – and the business will see
opportunities for collaboration with CLA.
We’ll provide a clear and precise flow of
information so that the business can move
to greatest commercial advantage. We’ll
hear from the business what could create
advantage and we will move strategically to
act on those as priority issues.
CLA WILL FULLY EMBRACE OUR COMMERCIAL
MINDSET – AND THE BUSINESS WILL SEE
OPPORTUNITIES FOR COLLABORATION WITH CLA
WE ACCEPT THAT OUR
PRODUCTS MUST BE
REGULATED – BUT THAT
REGULATION NEEDS TO
BE SENSIBLE, PRACTICAL
AND PROPORTIONAL.
What are the first priority objectives that you
and your new team are facing at the moment?
Excise is a key issue in most markets – Russia
and Central Asia are no exception. In KZ, we’re
fighting to stop heated tobacco being given a
massive excise advantage. Minimum retail
price is again on the agenda in Russia, and
the CLA team are moving swiftly to ensure
we achieve our preferred position. Next
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