PMI Names Daniele Aita Chief People and Culture Officer

By Grace Kim

Philip Morris International’s U.S. businesses, which employ more than 3,000 people, appointed Daniele Aita chief people and culture officer.

Philip Morris International, or PMI, said Aita brings more than 20 years of international human-resources experience to the company’s U.S. leadership team. He reports to Stacey Kennedy, chief executive officer of PMI U.S.

What will Aita oversee?

PMI said Aita will oversee organizational design, leadership development, recruiting, employee development and workplace culture. His remit comes as PMI expands its smoke-free products business.

In the U.S., PMI said Aita will align organizational structure and talent with the company’s smoke-free strategy. His priorities include deeper leadership and employee pipelines and a culture intended to support performance and growth.

Kennedy, chief executive officer of PMI U.S., said: “Daniele brings a unique combination of global business experience and deep expertise in building strong, high-performing organizations. He has played an important role in PMI’s transformation and in shaping our people strategy around the world.”

Aita, chief people and culture officer of PMI U.S., said: “My priority is to make all three stronger: designing our structures around our smoke-free ambitions, building deep and dense talent pipelines, and embedding a culture where people feel supported, challenged, and inspired to deliver our best work.”

In practical terms, Aita will connect hiring, structure and workplace culture to PMI’s smoke-free expansion.

What experience does Aita bring?

Philip Morris International said Aita joined the company in 2019 to support its commercial transition toward alternatives to cigarettes. As senior director of people and culture for commercial operations, he helped establish PMI’s Smoke-Free Products organization across multiple markets.

PMI said his work included building international teams and developing the leadership capabilities required for the new product category. Aita later served as vice president of people and culture for the Smoke-Free Products category. Most recently, he was vice president of people and culture for the company’s European region.

The company also cited Aita’s broader career of more than two decades in international human-resources positions across multiple industries, geographic markets and operating environments. He has worked with senior leaders on organizational effectiveness, talent development and large-scale business transformations.

At PMI, his assignments moved from commercial operations to the dedicated smoke-free unit and then to Europe, according to the company. His work across those roles included building international teams, developing leadership capabilities for the category and assuming regional responsibility for people and culture.

The sequence gives Aita experience in setting up a new organization, supporting international staffing and running people functions for both a product category and a region.

The key qualification is experience scaling the organization around PMI’s smoke-free category.

What must the U.S. business support?

PMI’s U.S. operations include facilities in Aurora, Colorado; Owensboro, Kentucky; and Wilson, North Carolina. Philip Morris International also operates its global headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut.

PMI said it is seeking to provide smoke-free alternatives to approximately 25 million U.S. adults who currently smoke cigarettes. In doing so, the company is managing product development, manufacturing, regulation and responsible commercialization.

That scope gives Aita’s people mandate a clear operating context: a workforce of more than 3,000, facilities in three states and a smoke-free strategy aimed at approximately 25 million U.S. adults who currently smoke cigarettes.

His quoted priorities name structures, pipelines and culture in that order. PMI separately cites organizational effectiveness, talent development and large-scale business transformations as part of Aita’s broader human-resources experience.

PMI’s next test is whether Aita can turn those priorities into stronger U.S. leadership pipelines and an organization capable of supporting the smoke-free expansion.