Former Lorillard chief executive Martin Orlowsky, who was to head Imperial Tobacco’s expanded US business, voluntarily resigned due to differences over management style, Imperial said.

His replacement as future chief executive of Imperial subsidiary ITG Brands is David Taylor, chief financial officer at Lorillard. Imperial has agreed to acquire Lorillard’s base of operations in Greensboro, NC, several cigarette brands and the electronic cigarette maker Blu as part of the Reynolds American takeover of Lorillard. Regulatory approval is expected in the first half of this year.
Orlowsky ran Lorillard for 11 years until 2010 and had been working for Imperial as a consultant prior to announcement of the deal last July, Imperial said. He had been named executive chairman designate for a US business that would rank number three in the domestic market behind market leader Philip Morris USA and RJ Reynolds Tobacco. Reynolds brands Winston, Kool and Salem would go to Imperial under the deal along with Lorillard's Maverick. Orlowsky’s successor, Taylor, has been CFO at Lorillard since 2008, and has been working on the launch of ITG Brands, Imperial said.