Stuart Thompson resigned as chief executive of U.S. Tobacco Cooperative (USTC) and has been replaced on an interim basis by Chief Financial Officer Edward Kacsuta, the company said.

Thompson joined USTC five years ago as CFO and served as chief executive for the past three years. USTC credited Thompson with contributing significantly to company growth and transforming the cooperative into a progressive sales and marketing organization. “His departure comes at a time when there were differing opinions on business strategy,” USTC said.
USTC is grower-owned and based in Raleigh, North Carolina. In addition to processing and marketing tobacco grown by 700 members in five south eastern states, USTC owns a distributing company and manufacturers its own tobacco products.