Tobacco.org

Imperial Tobacco appoints Alison Cooper as FTSE 100's fifth female chief 

The number of women running blue-chip FTSE 100 companies leapt by 25% today with the appointment of Alison Cooper as chief executive of Imperial Tobacco, the cigarette group behind brands including Lambert & Butler, Gitanes and Rizla.

Cooper, 43, is to succeed Gareth Davis, who has led Imps for the past 14 years. Currently chief operating officer, Cooper will take over next May, bringing the total number of female FTSE 100 bosses to five. The others are Dame Marjorie Scardino of publisher Pearson, Angela Ahrendts of fashion group Burberry, Cynthia Carroll at miner Anglo American and Katherine Garrett-Cox of Alliance Trust.

Imperial's chairman, Ian Napier, said the company had conducted "a rigorous review of potential candidates both internally and externally" before naming Cooper as the new boss. She is now likely to become one of Britain's best-paid women. Last year she earned £1.3m, while Davis picked up £3.9m in pay, perks and other incentives.

Jump to full article »