RAI forms innovations subsidiary

Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) has formed a new subsidiary, RAI Innovations Co., focused on product development, innovation and commercialization of next-generation vapor and nicotine products.

Carolyn C. Hanigan has been appointed president of RAI Innovations and is due to take up her new post on January 19. Hanigan has 20 years’ experience in consumer packaged goods companies, including Mars, Nestle, The Clorox Company and Kraft Nabisco Foods. Most recently, she was vice president of consumer marketing at Swander Pace Capital, a private-equity firm with holdings in consumer products companies.

“Product innovation has long been a hallmark of RAI’s operating companies,” said Susan M. Cameron, RAI’s president and COO. “By centralizing new-product development in these areas, we will be able to drive speed to market with new products across a range of platforms and more efficiently meet the preferences of consumers in a rapidly evolving marketplace.”