People often ask why I left a career I loved to join Philip Morris International. Honestly? I asked myself the same thing at the start. I don’t smoke. I don’t support smoking. I’m also a cancer and brain tumor survivor. If PMI had asked me to market cigarettes, I would have said a loud, unprintable “NO.”
But they didn’t. They asked me to help deliver on a radical mission: delivering a smoke-free future.
What That means
Cigarettes cause the vast majority of tobacco harm. The solution lies in eliminating combustion, not ignoring reality.
Since 2008, PMI has invested billions of dollars in smoke-free alternatives. As of year-end 2025, more than 43 million legal-age adults worldwide use these better products, and many of them have moved away from cigarettes entirely or significantly reduced their consumption.
Our simple message:
If you don’t smoke, don’t start.
If you smoke, quit.
If you don’t quit, change.
My Why
I’ve always pursued meaningful change—relief efforts in Haiti, supporting wounded veterans, helping to launch #GivingTuesday. But helping move millions of adults away from cigarettes? That would be the most impactful work of my career.
That’s why I returned to the U.S. from Switzerland in 2024: to help “unsmoke” America. With ~25 million adult smokers here, the stakes are enormous.
Ten years ago, I never would’ve believed I’d be working for a tobacco company. Today, I couldn’t be prouder.