OREANDA-NEWS. Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) announced today that John Boehner, former speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, and Jean-Marc Levy, executive-in-residence at the IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland, have been elected to serve on RAI’s board of directors as Class II directors, effective immediately. Boehner will serve on the board’s corporate governance, nominating and sustainability committee, and Levy will serve on the compensation and leadership development committee.

Levy fills the vacancy created by the resignation of Robert Lerwill in June this year. He is one of five RAI board members designated by Brown & Williamson Holdings, Inc. (B&W), a subsidiary of British American Tobacco p.l.c. (BAT), under the terms of the 2004 governance agreement, as amended, between RAI, B&W and BAT. RAI’s board now has 14 members.

“Both John and Jean-Marc bring valuable new experience and insights to the board in a dynamic environment,” said Thomas C. Wajnert, chairman of RAI’s board of directors. “As RAI gains momentum in its strategy to transform the tobacco industry, we welcome their fresh perspectives on our businesses and the rapidly evolving environments in which the RAI companies compete.”

Boehner, an Ohio native, was elected to Congress in 1990. Prior to that, he served as the president of a sales company in the packaging and plastic industry. He was also an Ohio state representative from 1985 to 1990.

Boehner served as the U.S. representative from Ohio’s 8th congressional district from 1991 to 2015. He was the House majority leader from 2006 to 2007, and House minority leader from 2007 through 2010. In January 2011, he was elected House speaker. Boehner retired from Congress in October 2015.

Levy, a Swiss national, is also the chief operating officer of Day Medical SA, a Swiss medical devices company, and serves as a board member of a Swiss startup company, Domo Safety SA. Levy also worked for BAT for 18 years in various management positions, and was BAT Group’s chief marketing officer for six years until the end of 2014. Prior to joining BAT, he started his career in the coffee and confectionery categories with the Kraft Jacobs Suchard Group.