36 TOBACCO BUSINESS | MAY / JUNE | 22 The Best of Intentions Before coming to his current position, Zercher headed American Spirit’s international business and was based in Zurich, Switzerland. It was there that he built a thriving business that experienced significant sales in 12 countries. That business was later sold to Japan Tobacco International for $5 billion. “I started my career working on the American Spirit brand when the company was small and independent, so I now have over 20 years of experience in the tobacco industry in marketing, sales, operations and business development in the U.S., Europe and Asia,” he explains. Zercher went on to join 22nd Century Group almost six years ago, initially serving in the position of vice president of business development. Three years ago, he was appointed as its president and chief operating officer. Despite its big vision and ambitions, 22nd Century Group is described by Zercher as being a small company that works with cannabis and hops plants in addition to tobacco. With its broad scope, Zercher, who is a self-proclaimed business builder, wears many hats within 22nd Century Group and is focused on creating new, proprietary plants and intellectual property. He also is responsible for technology, commercializing plants and patents, and building the foundations for 22nd Century Group to scale. As the company’s president and chief operating officer, Zercher is responsible for making sure the company’s vision is fulfilled. “We are a leader in tobacco harm reduction as well as a leader in cuttingedge cannabis and hops plant science,” he says. “I joined the company because I saw this potential, and its original mission—to reduce the harm caused by smoking—really resonated with me. I saw it, and still see it, as an opportunity to create financial value while also doing something good for those around me and society in general. While I knowwell the effects and consumer experiences that plants like tobacco and cannabis can deliver, I also know that a lot of people struggle with addiction, and that addiction, particularly to cigarettes, often leads to terrible effects on people’s health and society more generally.” He continues, “We are a leader in a broad strategy to help smokers take back control by helping them to smoke less and/or get their nicotine from less harmful modalities. Many companies are approaching this problem with vape, oral tobacco and other alternative product forms, but we are the only ones addressing head-on the problem of nicotine in combustible cigarettes, which is the most harmful form of nicotine delivery. I also love the idea of using our knowledge about plant science to improve the cannabis plant, which itself holds enormous potential to help people improve their health and wellness.” As an executive business leader, a large part of Zercher’s job is “getting the right people in the right seats,” he explains. “I hire people with good hearts who are committed professionals, [people] who know their jobs better than I do. If I’m able to work with people who are more knowledgeable and more capable than me who also come to the job every day with the intention to do their best work, leading is pretty straightforward. It’s then about coalescing the team and communicating a vision, developing a strategy and setting goals together to achieve that vision and then finding ways big and small each and every day to help each person I work with to be successful at their job. It’s also about letting my team help me be successful in what I do every day, but even if the vision, strategy and goals aren’t right, a group of good, knowledgeable people who are trying to help each other every day will be successful without fail.” Collaboration among a company’s teammembers is a must with such a big business goal of reducing the harm caused by smoking. The COVID-19 pandemic has made the teamwork dynamic more of a challenge with many of 22nd Century Group’s team members still working from home and others constantly traveling for work, but collaboration is still an integral part of the business that’s held together by good communication. 22nd Century Group has partnered with Circle K to launch its pilot program for VLN, a cigarette brand containing 95 percent less nicotine than a traditional combustible cigarette. Photography courtesy of Matt Marton
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