22nd Century Group, Inc. (NYSE MKT: XXII)
announced today the departure of Joseph Pandolfino as CEO and Chairman
of the Board. Mr. Pandolfino will remain a member of the Board of
Directors of the Company. Mr. Pandolfino’s entrepreneurial spirit and
vision have enabled the Company to create and assemble an important and
impressive portfolio of technology, and there are continuing discussions
to have him remain with the Company in the role of Chief Technology
Officer.
James Cornell, the newly elected Chairman of the Board, stated “Under
Joe Pandolfino’s leadership, 22nd Century has amassed an incredible
stable of propriety plant technologies which offer exceptional
opportunities for commercialization to build long term shareholder
value. On behalf of the Board and the Company’s shareholders, I want to
thank Joe for his significant contributions to the Company’s success.”
With the Company’s inclusion in the Master Settlement Agreement, the
soon to start sales of product in the U.S. and Europe, and a joint
venture in Asia, the largest tobacco market in the world, the Board of
Directors has decided to seek executive leadership with broad experience
to manage this next phase of growth of the Company.
Accordingly, the Board of Directors named Henry Sicignano, III, the
current President of the Company, to be the new Chief Operating Officer
of the Company. Mr Sicignano has been instrumental in many of the
Company’s successes and now that 22nd Century is on the cusp of product
sales in the U.S., Europe and Asia, it is important for the Company to
have an executive of Mr. Sicignano’s experience in this additional role
as Chief Operating Officer.
Mr. Cornell stated, “Henry Sicignano is ideally suited to lead the
Company’s tobacco related business. His strong tobacco background
growing the National America Spirit cigarette brand, coupled with his
sound strategic and implementation skills, are excellent.”
The Company’s Board of Directors has also established an Executive
Committee of the Board that will provide leadership guidance and
direction for senior management while a search for a new CEO is
underway. The Executive Committee consists of Mr. Cornell, Richard
Sanders and Joseph Dunn, PhD. Notably, Mr. Sanders is a career tobacco
executive who served from 2002-2008 as President of Santa Fe Natural
Tobacco Company, a division of Reynolds American Inc. During his tenure,
Santa Fe tripled the market share of its leading brand, American Spirit,
and expanded into Western Europe and Asia. The Company believes this
experience will be important given the Company’s recent inclusion in the
Master Settlement Agreement, and near term anticipated sales in the US,
Europe and Asia.
About 22nd Century Group, Inc.
22nd Century is a plant biotechnology company whose proprietary
technology through genetic engineering and plant breeding allows (i) the
level of nicotine (and other nicotinic alkaloids) in the tobacco plant
to be decreased or increased and (ii) the levels of cannabinoids to be
decreased or increased, in addition to the cannabinoid profile being
tailored. 22nd Century owns or is the exclusive licensee of 129 issued
patents in 78 countries plus an additional 51 pending patent
applications, and 22nd Century has co-exclusive rights to another 16
patent applications. Goodrich Tobacco is focused on commercial tobacco
products and potential less harmful cigarettes. Botanical Genetics is
focused on novel, cannabis plant varieties and cannabis-based products
for human health, well-being and nutrition, in addition to industrial
products refined from cannabis. Hercules Pharmaceuticals is focused on
X-22, a prescription smoking cessation aid in development.
For additional information, please visit: www.xxiicentury.com
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press
release contains forward-looking information, including all statements
that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief
or current expectations of 22nd Century Group, Inc., its directors or
its officers with respect to the contents of this press release. The
words “may,” “would,” “will,” “expect,” “estimate,” “anticipate,”
“believe,” “intend” and similar expressions and variations thereof are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. We cannot guarantee
future results, levels of activity or performance. You should not place
undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as
of the date that they were made. These cautionary statements should be
considered with any written or oral forward-looking statements that we
may issue in the future. Except as required by applicable law, including
the securities laws of the United States, we do not intend to update any
of the forward-looking statements to conform these statements to reflect
actual results, later events or circumstances, or to reflect the
occurrence of unanticipated events. You should carefully review and
consider the various disclosures made by us in our annual report on Form
10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, filed on January 30,
2014, including the section entitled “Risk Factors,” and our other
reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission which
attempt to advise interested parties of the risks and factors that may
affect our business, financial condition, results of operation and cash
flows. If one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or if
the underlying assumptions prove incorrect, our actual results may vary
materially from those expected or projected.
Copyright Business Wire 2014