BCG advisor in Board of British American Tobacco
Dimitri Panayotopoulos, senior advisor with the Consumer Practice of The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) – and former Board Member at Procter & Gamble – will starting on the 2nd of February 2015 take up the role of Board Member at British American Tobacco, one of the globe's largest Tabaco suppliers.
Panayotopoulos looks back on a long and influential career, with 37 years at Procter & Gamble (P&G), one of the largest suppliers of household and care products, where Panayotopoulos fulfilled several management roles in sales and general management. Important milestones include his promotion to head of the Chinese country organisation in 1999, and his promotion to region manager of Eastern Europe, the Middle-East and Africa two years later. More recently, he led various business units at P&G (Fabric Care, Household Care), before growing to the role of vice chairman of the board and advisor to the Chief Executive Officer.
Mid-2014 Panayotopoulos decided to, after 37 years at P&G, embrace a new challenge, taking up a role as Senior advisor within BCG’s Consumer Practice. From the base in BCG’s Amsterdam’s office, he managed large engagements in the retail and FMCG industry, and contributed to thought leadership. Panayotopoulos also set his expertise into innovation and go-to-go market strategies for a diverse range of assignments in the fast developing China.
British American Tobacco
Last week it became known that Panayotopoulos was appointed to the board of British American Tobacco, one of the largest suppliers of tobacco products in the world. Beside his appointment, Sue Farr, CEO of PR-organisation Chime Communications and Pedro Malan, Brazil’s ex-Finance Minister and ex-head of Banco Central do Brazil, were also appointed to the board.
That strategy consulting is an incubator for further career opportunity at the top is well known. Big firms, such as McKinsey & Company, BCG and Bain & Company have thousands of alumni globally that lead corporations and/or business units, serving as leader boards and in many cases also 'sales ambassadors' for their previous consultancy employer(s).