Promotions at Swisher

Swisher International President and CEO Peter Ghiloni plans to retire at the end of 2018 after 34 years with the company and more than 45 years in the tobacco industry.

John Miller has been appointed president of Swisher, effective Jan. 1, 2018.  Also, effective Jan. 1, Lou Caldropoli will be promoted to the newly created position of chief operations officer and John Haley will become Swisher’s senior vice president of sales and marketing.

Under Ghiloni’s leadership Swisher dramatically increased sales and market share while expanding its global presence with the establishment of Swisher Dominicana, the acquisition of Drew Estate and the formation of alliances in new industries.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed working for Swisher and leading its incredible team of employees,” says Ghiloni.

“Our relationships with customers and industry colleagues also helped me forge friendships that will last a lifetime. I am excited about the prospects for Swisher under John’s leadership which will ensure management continuity and will drive our continued growth.

Miller joined Swisher in 2012 as its senior vice president of sales and marketing after working within the tobacco and consumer packaged-goods industries for more than 25 years. Miller worked for the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co., where he rose to the position of regional vice president, was interim president of Goldwater’s Foods of Scottsdale and a principal in two consulting firms.

During his tenure with Swisher, Miller positioned the sales and marketing teams for record growth by expanding the national accounts team, developing the trade marketing, business analytics and consumer engagement functions and overseeing more than 150 promotions in the field sales force.

“I am honored and thrilled in being named Swisher’s next president,” said Miller. “I look forward to expanding Peter’s legacy and maintaining the company as the industry’s leader. Our team looks forward to continuing to develop the distributor and retailer programs that have connected our brands with our adult customers. We also anticipate some exciting forays into opportunities outside our core businesses.”

Caldropoli, currently the senior vice president of finance, will report directly to Miller. In this new role, Caldropoli will utilize his 21 years of experience with Swisher to lead the company’s global finance, information technology and operations groups. Caldropoli joined Swisher after working with Coopers & Lybrand.

Haley joined Swisher in 2013 as the vice president of trade marketing and was promoted to his current role in 2015. Prior to working for Swisher, Haley spent 20 years with U.S. Smokeless Tobacco and more than two years with Lindt Chocolate.