Cora is a seasoned HR executive who has held prominent positions at General Electric Central & Eastern Europe, Emirates Investment Authority in Abu Dhabi, UAE and Marsh.
Dr Cora Koppe-Stahrenberg has been appointed as the first chief people officer at global tobacco and nicotine producer British American Tobacco (BAT). Cora will also join the BAT management board with effect from 1 November 2023.
A seasoned HR executive, Cora has held prominent HR positions in leading companies including CHRO at General Electric Central & Eastern Europe, CHRO at Emirates Investment Authority in Abu Dhabi, UAE and managing director – human resources leader international at Marsh in New York.
Prior to joining BAT, Cora was the EVP – global head of human resources at Fresenius Medical Care between 2016 and 2023, a publicly listed global healthcare company with more than 125,000 employees.
It was in this role that Cora was awarded the WeQual EMEA People Excellence Award for her work done in establishing a new global HR function, and implementing a global people strategy through a number of change initiatives.
WeQual Awards celebrate and create visibility for women leaders, and accelerate gender equality within group executive committees of EMEA’s largest companies.
She holds a PhD in business administration from the University of Kiel, Germany.
In a statement, chief executive for BAT Tadeu Marroco commented, “I am delighted to welcome Cora to the management board. This is a significant management team-enhancing appointment for BAT. Culture and collaboration are at the heart of my leadership agenda; Cora shares these values and will play a key role in the group’s transformation to build a better tomorrow. I have no doubt that Cora will bring a fresh perspective, having worked internationally in multiple sectors outside our industry and will bring new insights and capability to our management team. I look forward to working with Cora to deliver a winning culture and a dynamic, modern BAT.”
