Alison Cooper

Alison Jane Cooper (born 31 March 1966) is a British businesswoman. She is the former chief executive officer (CEO) of Imperial Brands, the world's fourth-largest tobacco company as measured by market share. In February 2020, it was announced that she would be leaving as CEO in October 2020.[2]

Alison Cooper
Born
Alison Jane Cooper

(1966-03-31) 31 March 1966
NationalityBritish[1]
EducationTiffin Girls' School
Alma materBristol University
OccupationBusinesswoman
Years active1987–present
TitleCEO, Imperial Brands
Term2010 – October 2020
PredecessorGareth Davis
SuccessorStefan Bomhard
Board member ofInchcape plc 2009-2017
Spouse(s)Married
Children2

Early life

Cooper grew up in Kingston-upon-Thames, Surrey, in a family where "money was stretched".[1] She was educated at the nearby Tiffin Girls' School, an all-girls' grammar school, and later gained a bachelor's degree in mathematics and statistics from Bristol University.[3] After she gained her degree she spent a gap year teaching in Kenya on a voluntary basis.

Career

Cooper went to work for accountancy firm Deloitte, Haskins & Sells in Bristol as an auditor.[1] This company later became PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she worked in acquisitions and strategy planning.

She joined Imperial Tobacco in 1999 as group finance manager and was promoted to group financial controller in 2001.[4] She rose to chief operating officer in 2009, before becoming chief executive officer in March 2010. Cooper took over from Gareth Davis, who had held the position for fourteen years.[5] She said at the time, "We need a change in mindset. Tobacco has been traditional in the way it has operated. We want to move from being a tobacco manufacturer to a FMCG [fast-moving consumer goods] company."[5]

Cooper was a non-executive director of Inchcape plc from July 2009 until she stepped down in 2017.[6][7]

In October 2012, Cooper noted that she and Burberry’s Angela Ahrendts were the only two female CEOs running FTSE 100 Index companies.[3] Until 2020, Cooper was one of only 5 other female CEOs among UK's top 100 companies.[8]

In February 2013, she was assessed by Woman's Hour on BBC Radio 4 as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom.[9]

In October 2019, following a profits warning a few days earlier, Alison Cooper announced that she would step down as a CEO once a replacement is found.[10] She is considered the second high profile exit to the company.[8] Her successor, Stefan Bomhard, CEO of Inchcape plc was announced on 3 February 2020.[11]

Personal life

Cooper is married to an accountant with two daughters.[3] Cooper was frequently identified in the press as smoking cigars and driving a Porsche.

References
  1. "15. Alison Cooper". Financial Times. 15 November 2011. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
  2. "Subscribe to read | Financial Times". www.ft.com. Cite uses generic title (help)
  3. "Alison Cooper: Women CEOs are not a commodity". The Telegraph. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  4. "Interview: Imperial Tobacco chief Alison Cooper – 'Display bans are a drag but I will keep sparking up bigger profits' – Analysis & Features – Business". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 26 July 2014.
  5. "Alison Cooper: lighting up Imperial Tobacco". The Telegraph. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  6. "Board of Directors". Imperial Tobacco. Archived from the original on 29 October 2012. Retrieved 31 October 2012.
  7. "Inchcape director Alison Cooper to step down". Post Online Media. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
  8. "Imperial Brands CEO Cooper to step down". Reuters. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  9. "BBC Radio 4 – Woman's Hour – The Power List 2013". BBC. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
  10. Gill, Oliver (3 October 2019). "Imperial Brands chief smoked out after 'losing investor confidence'". The Daily Telegraph.
  11. "Imperial Brands names new chief executive". ft.com. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
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