A NEW CEO AT U.S. TOBACCO COOPERATIVE

This just in...The U.S. Tobacco Cooperative (USTC) has appointed its chief financial officer Stuart Thompson to the apparently new position of chief executive officer. Thompson, 49, has 18 years of experience in senior management roles in several industries, but has only been involved in tobacco since he joined USTC in 2011. A statement from USTC's board chairman Jimmy Hill of Kinston, N.C., noted Thompson's strong management and financial background but gave no indication of what his duties would include and what change if any there would be in the duties of USTC president Tommy Bunn.