Gareth Davis

GARETH DAVIS is the Chief Executive of Imperial Tobacco Group Plc. He
was appointed Chief Executive in March 1996 and led the successful
demerger of the Company from Hanson Plc in October of that year. After
leaving The University of Sheffield with an Honours degree in Economics,
Mr Davis joined WD & HO Wills, part of Imperial Tobacco, as a management
trainee. He held various manufacturing roles and was appointed
Manufacturing Director of Imperial Tobacco Limited in 1987. Within three
months he also took the additional role of Managing Director of Imperial
Tobacco International. Mr Davis spent 12 years at the Group’s principal
Nottingham site before his appointment as Chief Executive. One of Mr
Davis’ many achievements was to transform ITG into one of the lowest
cost and most efficient cigarette manufacturers in the world. This
efficiency has enabled ITG to pursue an ongoing expansion programme.
Under Mr Davis’ leadership Imperial Tobacco has been transformed from a
UK Company into a multinational tobacco Group. Married with one
daughter, Mr Davis and his wife Andrea live in England. He is a Patron
of the New Appeals Charity (Nottingham), a member of the Confederation
of British Industry Manufacturing Council and a Patron of the Battle of
Britain Historical Society. Mr Davis’ leisure interests include golf,
cricket, soccer and rugby, and luckily enough travelling.