LAUSANNE, Switzerland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE: PM), a leading international tobacco company with a diverse workforce of around 73,500 people who hail from every corner of the globe, is committed to being a great employer. Demonstrating this corporate responsibility, PMI CEO André Calantzopoulos has today named Silke Muenster as its first chief diversity officer, reporting directly to him. Transitioning from her current role as vice president, Market Research at PMI, Muenster’s new position will be effective March 15, 2020, and based in the company’s operating center in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Focused on leading an industry-wide transformation to deliver a smoke-free future, PMI strives to be environmentally and socially responsible while maintaining operational excellence. The company has made clear its ambition to increase the representation of women in management roles across the organization to 40 percent by 2022, based on evidence that shows that companies with diversity in the workplace achieve better results and have more satisfied employees at every level. Right now, women make up 36 percent of management roles—an increase of 6 percentage points since year end 2014.

Calantzopoulos said: “To achieve our ambitions, we are driving toward an organization with broader perspectives, increased creativity and productivity. Silke Muenster has been a senior leader and a leading advocate for an inclusive workplace, demonstrating her ability to inspire change and action since joining PMI—anyone who knows her knows her directness, courage and forthright manner; she will challenge the senior management team to see things from a new perspective and push harder to make progress. In her new role, she will be responsible for galvanizing and building upon our Inclusion & Diversity efforts, including PMI’s global EQUAL-SALARY certification, which we were the first multinational to achieve in 2019. Working with Melissa Whiting, vice president, Inclusion & Diversity, Silke will bring acumen, energy and accountability to this all-important function, ensuring we recruit, hire, train and retain a high-performing diverse workforce globally.”

Muenster joined PMI in 2011, where she was director, Market and Consumer Research until 2012 when she became vice president, Market Research. At PMI, she is known for being incredibly proactive regarding I&D—she is a coach and mentor to other women, has built a women’s network at the company and has already been working closely with SVP, People & Culture, Charles Bendotti and Whiting on strategies and tactics to increase diversity and inclusion. Prior to her time at PMI, she spent 12 years in leading research roles at the Coca-Cola Company, four years at Apollinaris & Schweppes and four years at Marbert Kosmetik. She began her career at Research International after earning her degree in mathematics from Ruhr University Bochum in Germany.

Philip Morris International: Delivering a Smoke-Free Future

Philip Morris International (PMI) is leading a transformation in the tobacco industry to create a smoke-free future and ultimately replace cigarettes with smoke-free products to the benefit of adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, society, the company and its shareholders. PMI is a leading international tobacco company engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, as well as smoke-free products and associated electronic devices and accessories, and other nicotine-containing products in markets outside the United States. In addition, PMI ships a version of its IQOS Platform 1 device and its consumables authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to Altria Group, Inc. for sale in the United States under license. PMI is building a future on a new category of smoke-free products that, while not risk-free, are a much better choice than continuing to smoke. Through multidisciplinary capabilities in product development, state-of-the-art facilities and scientific substantiation, PMI aims to ensure that its smoke-free products meet adult consumer preferences and rigorous regulatory requirements. PMI’s smoke-free IQOS product portfolio includes heat-not-burn and nicotine-containing vapor products. As of Dec. 31, 2019, PMI estimates that approximately 9.7 million adult smokers around the world have already stopped smoking and switched to PMI’s heat-not-burn product, available for sale in 52 markets in key cities or nationwide under the IQOS brand. For more information, please visit and .

# # #

View source version on businesswire.com: