Imperial Brands CEO Alison Cooper to step down

LONDON (Reuters) – Tobacco company Imperial Brands Plc said chief executive officer Alison Cooper would step down from her role once a replacement is found.

While the search for a successor continues, Cooper will focus on driving the performance of the business, including the asset divestment program, of which the company expects to realize proceeds of up to 2 billion pounds ($2.46 billion) by May 2020, the company said in a statement on Thursday.

(Reporting by Siddharth Cavale; Editing by Kim Coghill)