Dr Junker will play a central role in leading BAT’s extensive research and development programmes, which support the company’s commitment to reducing the health impact of its business by offering consumers a range of alternative smokeless tobacco and nicotine products

Based at BAT’s Research & Development hub in Southampton, Dr Junker will be leading the global Life Sciences organisation, ensuring world-class science and best practice are applied to all aspects of BAT’s work. Together with his team, Dr Junker will help deliver sustained scientific evidence that supports BAT’s Smokeless Products and advances the evidence to support Tobacco Harm Reduction.

Dr James Murphy, BAT’s Director Research and Science, said: “Chris is a highly experienced, much-admired leader, with a proven track record of positively impacting our scientific engagement with regulators, media and the external scientific community. BAT has made significant progress over recent years to advance our commitment to Tobacco Harm Reduction which we believe is one of the greatest public health opportunities for global society today. We recently launched Omni™ – an evidence-based resource which we hope will spur dialogue with stakeholders on Tobacco Harm Reduction. Chris’ leadership and experience will help further accelerate that progress and drive this important conversation on Building A Smokeless World.”

Dr Junker added: “I am incredibly excited to join our Life Sciences team and be at our fantastic R&D hub in Southampton. There is such immense talent and extensive capabilities across our global organisation, and I look forward to working with and supporting our team to bring maximum impact to the science we generate, the relationships we forge across the Group, and the way we show up within the external community.”

Dr Junker most recently served as Vice President, Scientific & Regulatory Affairs for Reynolds American Inc. (Reynolds), a wholly owned subsidiary of BAT. In this role, he was responsible for regulatory strategy and engagement, leading a multidisciplinary team of scientists and regulatory experts in the synthesis of premarket regulatory submissions for Reynolds’ vapor and oral tobacco product portfolios.

Dr Junker joined Reynolds in 2011 as a scientist and received his PhD in Synthetic Organic Chemistry from Wake Forest University and Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Catawba College.