Philip Morris T&T, the affiliate company of Philip Morris International (PMI) has announced the appointment of Tomás Ayala as the company’s new general manager for the Trinidad & Tobago and Caribbean markets.
The appointment is part of a series of new leadership roles for PMI in the Caribbean and Central America, which aim to drive an evolution in the smoke-free category through portfolios with a greater diversity of science-based alternatives for the different needs of adult smokers and nicotine users.
Sheldon Wood, who was PMTT’s general manager since 2022 and who lead the consolidation of PMI´s Smoke Free Vision in Trinidad & Tobago with the introduction of e cigarette Veev Now, has been promoted as new General Manager for North Central America. Wood will continue developing the smoke-free category in markets such as Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.
T&T´s growth as a Caribbean hub.
Tomás Ayala will be developing the corporate leadership of Philip Morris Trinidad & Tobago, a market that is positioned within PMI´s cluster and the entire Central America and Caribbean region as an innovation hub and a fertile land for greater investments in smoke-free and other aspects of the business. One big goal for Ayala will be accelerating the growth of PMTT projects in Trinidad & Tobago as one important hub in the Region, bringing value and benefits to the nation.
Equally important to PMTT is to continue to develop science-based smoke-free alternatives so that more adult smokers make the switch to these lower-risk products than continuing to smoke conventional cigarettes (although not risk free). PMTT carries out this vision through its VEEV Now product, within the E cigarette category.
Tomás Ayala will also give continuity to Philip Morris’ corporate initiatives in Trinidad & Tobago, such as the Diversity and Inclusion, Talent Development, Sustainability, Gender Equity, and Wellness programs, among others.
Tomás Ayala’s trajectory.
Tomas Ayala is well known for his superb leadership style, focused on collaboration, empathy, inclusion, and trust, along with his broad business acumen. Of Guatemalan origin, he joined PMI in 2019, after a thriving 14-year career at L’Oréal, in areas such as scientific engagement, brand building or commercial deployment across LATAM, in niche or mass-market dermatological products.
Until last May he served as General Manager of Philip Morris for North Central America (Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador), a truly multi-category market, commercializing IQOS Iluma, IQOS, Lil and Veev.
During these almost five years he attains an expansion of PMI’s smoke-free products, achieving that in markets such as Guatemala approximately 185 million cigarettes have been stopped lighting up so far (based on internal estimates)
With renewed leadership and in the context of exporting talent from Central America and the Caribbean to other latitudes, Philip Morris International is preparing to continue expanding its multi-category of smoke-free products in the region, aimed exclusively at adult smokers who would otherwise continue to consume conventional cigarettes.