British American Tobacco - Corporate governance (QIAN YANG)
Introduction：500
Corporate governance background 250
To begin with we will provide a brief background on the corporate governance. The system of rules, practices and processes by which a company is directed and controlled. Corporate governance essentially involves balancing the interests of the many stakeholders in a company - these include its shareholders, management, customers, suppliers, financiers, government and the community. Since corporate governance also provides the framework for attaining a company's objectives, it encompasses practically every sphere of management, from action plans and internal controls to performance measurement and corporate disclosure. …show more content…

Each Committee has its own terms of reference, available at www.bat.com/governance, which are reviewed and updated regularly to ensure their alignment with best practice.

The Board has also established a Corporate Committee, comprising the three Executive Directors, which is responsible for reviewing issues prior to their referral to the Board and its principal Committees.

3. Board of Directors
(1) The Chairman - responsible for leadership of the Board and ensuring its effectiveness on all aspects of its role

Chairman
––Leadership of the Board
––Ensure Board effectiveness
––Facilitate contribution of Directors
––Set Board agenda
––Interfacing with shareholders
––Ensure effective shareholder engagement

Richard Burrows is the Chairman of British American Tobacco since November 2009, before that he was Non-Executive Director since September 2009 and Chairman of the Nominations Committee.

(2). Chief Executive
––Overall responsibility for performance
––Leadership of the Group
––Stewardship of Group assets
––Enable planning and execution of objectives and strategies

There are two chief executive in British American Tobacco. Nicandro Durante
Chief Executive (57)
Brazilian/Italian
Position: Chief Executive since March 2011.

4 Ben Stevens
Finance Director and Chief Information Officer (54)
British
Position: Finance Director since