Our leadership team

Mr. Olczak was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Philip Morris International (PMI) in May 2021. Prior to this appointment, he served as PMI’s Chief Operating Officer from January 2018, having formerly been Chief Financial Officer, beginning in August 2012. Mr. Olczak is committed to delivering PMI’s smoke-free future and expanding the company’s product portfolio beyond nicotine. He has been a key driver of the company’s commercial transformation, turning a primarily business-to-business company into an increasingly business-to-consumer company. Throughout his nearly three-decade career with PMI, Mr. Olczak has established deep institutional and industry knowledge and awareness of PMI’s products, systems, and values—as well as a comprehensive understanding of the regulatory environment in which PMI operates. Mr. Olczak began his career with PMI in 1993. He started in finance and general management positions across Europe, including as Managing Director of PMI’s markets in Poland and Germany and as President of the European Union Region, before being appointed Chief Financial Officer in 2012. Prior to joining PMI, Mr. Olczak worked for BDO Binder. Mr. Olczak holds a master’s degree in economics from the University of Lodz, Poland.

Mr. Babeau became Chief Financial Officer in May 2020. Prior to joining PMI, Mr. Babeau spent over a decade at Schneider Electric, where he served as Deputy CEO in charge of Finance and Legal Affairs. He had joined Schneider Electric as Executive Vice President Finance and a member of the Management Board in 2009. From 1993 to 2009, he worked at Pernod Ricard. Having started at the company as an Internal Auditor, he subsequently moved through several executive positions, both locally in France and abroad. As Chief Financial Officer and Group Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Babeau supervised Finance, Information Systems and Industry Administration. He had initially started his career at Arthur Andersen in 1990. Mr. Babeau also sits on the board of Sodexo S.A. He previously served on the board of Sanofi S.A. and has been Vice Chairman of the board of Aveva plc. He holds a degree from the École Supérieure de Commerce de Paris.

Dr. Chowdhury became Chief Life Sciences Officer, Smoke-Free Products in September 2022. He leads a talented team of scientific experts overseeing best-in-class programs to demonstrate the individual, clinical, and public health benefits of PMI’s smoke-free products for adult smokers who would otherwise continue to smoke. Dr. Chowdhury joined PMI from a U.S.-based biotech company developing inhalation products for rare respiratory diseases, where he was Chief Medical Officer. Prior to that, he was AstraZeneca’s Senior Vice President and Chief Physician-Scientist for Respiratory Inflammation and Autoimmunity Late-Stage Development in Biopharmaceuticals R&D. Before joining the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Chowdhury served as Director, Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Rheumatology Products, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) at the U.S. FDA for almost 21 years, from 1997 to 2018, providing scientific and regulatory oversight of therapies for lung, autoimmune, and inflammatory diseases. Dr. Chowdhury is a medical doctor and holds a PhD in immunology from Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada.

Lars Dahlgren became President, Smoke-Free Products (SFP) Oral Products for Philip Morris International in January 2023, in addition to his role as CEO, Swedish Match. Mr. Dahlgren joined Swedish Match in 1996, and has been a member of its group management team since 2004. He has extensive history and success in the category of oral nicotine products, having grown in Swedish Match through several roles in finance, including CFO, and ultimately leading the Swedish Match organization as President and CEO since 2008. Mr. Dahlgren has proven his commitment to bringing fresh thinking and innovation to the industry, coupled with a depth of expertise in oral nicotine products. He has an MSc in business and economics from the Stockholm School of Economics, Sweden.

Mr. de Wilde became President, South and Southeast Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States, Middle East and Africa Region in January 2023. Prior to his current role, Mr. de Wilde had been President, European Union Region since 2015. He joined Philip Morris International in 1992 as Brand Manager L&M for Philip Morris Belgium. In 1996, he became Marketing Director for Philip Morris Spain S.L. and, four years later, Sales Director of Spain. He was then named Managing Director of Philip Morris Greece, where he led the acquisition and integration of the Papastratos Cigarette Manufacturing Company. In 2005, Mr. de Wilde became Managing Director of PMI’s affiliate in Italy, and from January 2008 until the end of June 2011, he held the position of President, Philip Morris Japan KK. In July 2011, Mr. de Wilde became Senior Vice President, Marketing & Sales. Prior to joining PMI, Mr. de Wilde worked at Colgate Palmolive, Belgium from 1991 to 1992 as regional sales manager. Mr. de Wilde holds a degree in economics from the Université Libre de Bruxelles and a master’s degree in management from the Vrije Universiteit Brussel.

Ms. Rich Folsom became Senior Vice President and General Counsel in July 2020. Ms. Folsom is an accomplished C-suite executive and attorney with deep experience advising management and boards of directors. She joined Philip Morris International in July 2020 with a combination of corporate, legal, and international business expertise. A veteran general counsel and governance leader, she has broad experience leading organizations through transformations and restructurings. Previously, as General Counsel, Chief Compliance Officer, and SVP of Government Affairs and Global Public Policy at U.S. Steel, Ms. Folsom spearheaded the successful fair trade campaign to reinvigorate the steel industry and oversaw the company’s legal, compliance, and labor relations groups, in addition to leading the operational performance of the company’s real estate division. At AIG, she played a critical role in the company’s response to the financial crisis as Chief Regulatory and Compliance Officer and Deputy General Counsel. Earlier, Ms. Folsom was Counselor to the President and Director of Institutional Integrity at the World Bank; served as the General Counsel who drove transformation at ACADEMI post-scandal; was the private secretary to the Queen of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan; and held key roles with more than one U.S. presidential first family. The recipient of multiple awards for legal and governance contributions, Ms. Folsom was named a Top 50 General Counsel by The National Law Journal and received the U.K.-based Women in Compliance 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award. She has also been recognized for her unwavering commitment to diversity and inclusion. Ms. Folsom holds degrees from Georgetown University Law Center and Duke University and has served on both private and public company boards.

Ms. Kennedy became President, Americas Region and CEO of PMI’s U.S. business in January 2023. Ms. Kennedy began her career with Philip Morris USA in 1995 as a Territory Sales Manager. She held a number of positions of increasing responsibility in the sales organization until becoming Vice President, Sales, Southeast Region in Atlanta in 2006. In 2010, Ms. Kennedy joined PMI’s Operations Center in Lausanne as Vice President, Sales Strategy, and in April 2013 became Area Vice President, Southeast Europe. Ms. Kennedy served as Managing Director for Germany, Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia from 2015 until she was appointed President, South & Southeast Asia Region in January 2018. Ms. Kennedy received a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Cultural Anthropology from Randolph College in the United States, and an Executive MBA from IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Mr. Kurali became Deputy Chief Financial Officer & Head of Finance Transformation in August 2021, having previously served as Vice President and Controller from March 2015. Mr. Kurali joined Philip Morris Germany in September 1993 as finance trainee and subsequently in various finance roles with increasing responsibilities—including planning and budgeting, fiscal affairs, accounting and reporting, treasury, and tax. In early 2003, he became Director, Finance and Information Systems for our Worldwide Duty Free business, based in Switzerland, followed by an assignment in our Latin American Region as Director, Finance, Mexico from 2005 to 2008. Mr. Kurali was then appointed Vice President of Finance for our Latin America & Canada Region, a position he held until 2012, and was Vice President, Finance to our Asia Region until 2014. Mr. Kurali holds a degree in Business Administration as Diplom Kaufmann from the University of Mannheim, Germany.

Mr. Mariotti became President, CIS, Central Asia & Israel, in January 2023. Prior to this, he had been President, Eastern Europe Region from January 2018. Since joining PMI in 1997, Mr. Mariotti has held numerous leadership roles in Argentina and across Europe. He started in business development for the European Union Region and moved to Italy in 2001 as Director, Finance and then Director, Corporate Affairs. In 2005, Mr. Mariotti became Managing Director, Argentina, followed by his appointment as Managing Director, Italy in 2008. In 2010, Mr. Mariotti was named President, Russia & Belarus and became Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs in 2015. Before joining PMI, Mr. Mariotti worked in the financial sector in Switzerland. Mr. Mariotti studied economics in Lausanne, Switzerland, and holds an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.

Ms. Muenster became Chief Diversity Officer in March 2020. Ms. Muenster joined PMI in 2011 as Director, Market and Consumer Research before being appointed Vice President, Market Research in 2012, a position she held until her current appointment. Prior to PMI, Ms. Muenster spent 12 years in leading research roles at The Coca-Cola Company, four years at Apollinaris & Schweppes and four years at Marbert Kosmetik. Ms. Muenster began her career at Research International and holds a degree in Mathematics from Ruhr University, Bochum in Germany.

Mr. Riley became President, East Asia, Australia, and PMI Duty Free Region in January 2023. He was previously President, East Asia & Australia Region, a role he held since January 2018. He joined Philip Morris Australia in 1988. Over the following two decades, he held several positions in Australia, Hong Kong, and Japan, before being named Managing Director, Serbia and Montenegro in 2010. Mr. Riley returned to Asia in 2013, when he became President of Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corporation in the Philippines. He was appointed President of Philip Morris Japan in 2015. Mr. Riley holds a degree in technology innovation and services management from the Royal Melbourne Institute and is a graduate of Harvard Business School.

Mr. Verdeaux became Senior Vice President, External Affairs in September 2020. Mr. Verdeaux joined Philip Morris International from Hering Schuppener, where he was a partner. Prior to this position, he was Group International Policy Director at Vodafone from 2014 to 2019. In this role, he built up a new team focusing on enabling the company with integrated regulatory strategies, and oversaw the coordination of policy, lobbying, antitrust, compliance, and other activities while supporting markets in Europe, Africa and Asia. He was European policy director at Electricité De France (EDF) between 2011 and 2014. He served as Deputy Head of Cabinet for the President of France from 2008 to 2011. Mr. Verdeaux held several positions at the United Nations from 2005 to 2008. He served as Europe and Legal adviser to the French Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2004 to 2005. Prior to this position, he was a Cabinet adviser at the European Commission since 2001. He was Administrator of the French Senate between 1998 and 2000, and adviser to the French Minister for European Affairs from 1995 to 1997. Mr. Verdeaux holds degrees from Université d’Auvergne, University of Oklahoma, and Sciences Po.

Mr. Volpetti became President, Smoke-Free Inhaled Products & Chief Consumer Officer in January 2023, having previously held the title of President, Smoke-Free Products Category & Chief Consumer Officer from November 2021. He joined PMI in 2019 as Chief Consumer Officer. Mr. Volpetti previously worked at Procter & Gamble for 22 years, where he progressed through various roles with increasing responsibility locally in Italy and Mexico, and on a regional level for the European market. In 2013, he became Vice President for a multi-functional, global business unit at P&G. He is an experienced marketeer with broad experience in commercial roles as well, having obtained a winning track record with consumers in both developed and developing markets. Mr. Volpetti specializes in consumer-centric marketing programs, business model transformation, digital acceleration, and disruptive innovation. He also worked at Luxottica Eyewear as Chief Marketing Officer in 2015. Mr. Volpetti holds a degree in business administration from Luiss University in Rome.