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20 SMOKESHOP June 2016 mailto:cigarluver@klafters.com KLAFTERS_SS June12 5/14/12 10:13 AM Page 1 > At its annual general meeting held in Copenhagen on April 26, 2016, the board of directors of Scandinavian Tobacco Group A/S re-elected Jørgen Tandrup, Søren Bjerre-Nielsen, Dianne Neal Blixt, Marlene Forsell, Conny Karlsson, Luc Missorten and Henning Kruse Petersen and elected Nigel Northridge as members of the board of directors. In addition, the board of directors has appointed Jørgen Tandrup as chairman of the board of directors and Nigel Northridge as vice-chairman. > Jhonys Diaz, vice president of operations and master blender at General Cigar Company, has taken on the addi- tional responsibility of overseeing tobacco procurement functions at the company's offshore manufacturing facilities. A company representative stated that as a result of Diaz's appointment to the company's executive managment team, Ernest Gocaj, director of tobacco procurement, now reports directly to Diaz, and that Diaz reports directly to president Regis Broersma. Diaz will continue in his current role man- aging operations at the company's production facilities in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua, Diaz and retains his current title. > Blend Bar with Davidoff Cigars has announced the promotion of Rob Coombes to manager/corporate train- er. Coombes, who has been responsible for bringing the Indianpolis-based luxury retailer's new lounge in Nashville, Tenn. online and replicating the original location's luxuri- ous, world-class experience, will retain his present duties as corporate trainer. In addition, Chad Blackwelder, a long- time member of the company team, has been promoted to general manager of Blend Bar Indianapolis. Club Macanudo Celebrates 20 Years General Cigar Company celebrated the 20th anniversary of its Manhattan cigar lounge and restaurant, Club Macanudo, with a private party on April 21. Among those in attendence were (l. to r.) Michael Giannini, creative director/director of innovations, General Cigar Co.; Alan Willner, v.p. marketing, General Cigar Co.; Regis Broersma, president, General Cigar Co.; Craig Reynolds, executive v.p., global handmade cigars, Scandinavian Tobacco Group; Rick Rodriguez, blender/ambassador, CAO Cigars; Gavin Murphy, gen- eral manager, Club Macanudo; and Ernest Gocaj, director of tobac- co procurement, General Cigar Co. > Gurkha Cigars has hired Eddy Guerra as director of marketing in a strategic move to strengthen its posi- ton in the luxury market, according to a statement from company president Kaizad Hansaotia. A native of Miami, Florida Guerra previously served since 2010 as a partner in the Thailand-based ChindAsia Capital Partners, the larg- est distributor of non-Cuban cigars in Southeast Asia, where Guerra helped create the Whisgars Cigar/Whiskey lounge concept, which catered to the high- end market. Prior to that, as marketing director for the Nikki Beach brand in Miami and Thailand. > Black Label Trading Company has announced the appointment of Derek Matthews as national sales man- ager for both BLTC and Black Works Studio premium cigar brands. An avid cigar enthusiast and Certified Retail Tobacconist, Matthews brings years of cigar retail expe- rience and expertise in sales and marketing, promotions, special events and management to the company. He will be responsible for sales team leadership, collaborating with management to develop growth strategies and implement- ing initiatives for brand awareness. Industry NEWS PersonnelMoves Guerra