Key Points
● Dragos Constantinescu officially became BAT Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director on September 1, 2026.
● He previously spent 16 years at BAT across finance, strategy and general management roles in Europe.
● Constantinescu joined Asahi in 2019 and became CEO of Asahi Europe & International in 2025.
2Firsts
September 1, 2026
British American Tobacco (BAT) and its Chief Executive Tadeu Marroco said in separate LinkedIn posts on September 1, 2026, that Dragos Constantinescu had officially joined the company as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director. The appointment, first announced by BAT in April, brings Constantinescu back to the company around seven years after his departure.
BAT said Constantinescu brings international leadership experience across both the nicotine and wider fast-moving consumer goods sectors, alongside expertise in finance, strategy and enterprise management.
In a separate post marking his arrival, BAT Chief Executive Tadeu Marroco said Constantinescu returns with 16 years of previous senior finance and general management experience at the company and a deep understanding of BAT’s business. Marroco said that experience would be an asset as BAT continues its transformation toward “A Better Tomorrow.”
16 Previous Years at BAT Across Finance and General Management
Constantinescu has a long history with BAT.
His professional background shows that he joined BAT in 2002 and spent about 16 years at the company across finance, strategy and general management roles.
His positions included Commercial Finance Manager Europe, Finance Controller for the Western Europe Area, Head of Corporate Finance for the Western Europe Region, Finance Director Poland, General Manager Sweden & Norway, General Manager Poland and Area Director Central Europe North.
In his later BAT role, his responsibilities covered markets including Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and the Baltic countries.
When announcing his appointment in April, BAT said Constantinescu brought a combination of financial expertise, enterprise leadership and international experience across both nicotine and the broader FMCG sector.
Joined Asahi in 2019 and Became Europe & International CEO in 2025
Constantinescu left BAT in 2019 and joined Asahi.
At Asahi, he went on to lead businesses in Romania and Hungary, followed by responsibility for the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Germany and Austria. He also served as Managing Director of Czech brewer Plzeňský Prazdroj.
In April 2025, he became CEO of Asahi Europe & International.
When announcing his planned return to BAT earlier this year, Constantinescu said the company had a clear transformation strategy and that he looked forward to supporting BAT’s strategic priorities while maintaining disciplined execution and strong returns to shareholders.
BAT Completes CFO Leadership Transition
Before Constantinescu formally took office, Javed Iqbal had been serving as BAT’s Interim Chief Financial Officer.
In his September 1 post, Marroco thanked Iqbal for his contribution during the transition, including his role in maintaining continuity and execution across key priorities.
Under BAT’s previously announced succession arrangement, Iqbal will continue as Director, Digital & Information following Constantinescu’s arrival.
Constantinescu also joins BAT’s Board and Management Board, giving him responsibilities extending beyond the Group finance function into broader corporate strategy and capital allocation.
New CFO Arrives as BAT Continues Group Transformation
Constantinescu returns as BAT continues its broader “A Better Tomorrow” transformation and expansion of its smokeless portfolio.
BAT’s smokeless product portfolio includes Vuse vapour products, glo heated products and Velo modern oral nicotine products.
When announcing Constantinescu’s appointment in April, Marroco said his international experience and understanding of BAT would support the company’s focus on quality growth, sustainable delivery of its mid-term growth algorithm and robust cash returns.
BAT Chair Luc Jobin also said Constantinescu’s experience across finance, enterprise leadership, international business, transformation and strategy would be valuable to both the Board and management team.
His return therefore represents more than a finance leadership handover: BAT is bringing back an executive with extensive institutional knowledge of the company combined with more recent senior leadership experience in a major international FMCG group.
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Cover Image: BAT / LinkedInSources
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