Senior Vice President and Chief Corporate Citizenship Officer of Philip Morris International (PMI) Marian Salzman declared herself a “superfan” of Stamford at the company’s new offices only a few doors away from the city’s municipal offices.
Salzman did so at a March 4 event announcing the launch of the Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiative, which will see PMI provide $1 million each year for five years to help remove barriers to entrepreneurship for Connecticut women. The Women’s Business Development Council will help coordinate the use of the funds.
“We’re here to celebrate today two things: The Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC) and our collective potential to drive positive change,” Salzman said.
“Those of you in Fairfield County may know us as the latest Fortune 500 company to select Connecticut as home base, and we have several people in this room including Governor Lamont and Congressman Himes to thank for that,” Salzman said.
“We’re proud of our positive impact on the state, not only through the jobs we provide, but also through our engagement with various local and statewide organizations,” continued Salzman, noting work with not only the Stamford Chamber of Commerce, the Connecticut Mutual Network, the CBIA, AdvanceCT, the Avon Theater and 4CT.
Salzman positioned the new initiative being launched in partnership with the WBDC as an extension of PMI’s values, particularly as a woman led organization.
“Investing in women creates a positive social and economic impact for everyone, for all humans. As we grow our Connecticut presence PMI will, as always, be a force for good, promoting economic opportunity, women’s empowerment solutions built on science and facts, and a return to productive, civil discourse.”
While Stamford is the legal headquarters of PMI’s business in the Americas, many operations are conducted overseas where it sells Marlboro products from its chief Operations Center in Lausanne, Switzerland. The international focus of the business meant that Stacey Kennedy, President Americas and CEO of PMI’s US business, which excludes the Marlboro cigarette brand (sold domestically by Philip Morris USA) but includes Zyn nicotine pouches and plans to begin selling the IQOS heated tobacco product in 2024, had spent much of the past decade overseas.
“As you can probably imagine,” Kennedy said, “the US that I came home to in late 2023 was markedly different than the US I left in 2010. I must say I was a little reticent about that because I could easily get discouraged by the current state of affairs, the discord and polarization that we see expressed every day.”
“But then I look around in a room at a gathering like this, and I’m reminded that all of the chatter on social media all of the things that we hear… that show polarization do not reflect the reality of this great country,” said Kennedy. She singled out the efforts of Governor Lamont and Himes, along with Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons, all of whom were in attendance, to make it clear that PMI would find partners in efforts to benefit the local community. That, alongside access to a highly educated workforce and a high standard of living, made Stamford an easy choice in her opinion.
Kennedy noted that the WBDC had worked to empower 19,000 people since its founding in 1997, launching 14,000 businesses which currently employ over 31,000 people throughout Connecticut.
Fran Pastore, WBDC CEO, thanked Governor Lamont for hosting the dinner where she first met Salzman and supporting her organization.
“When you have progressive leadership and an activist governor who sees that it’s important to include more than 51 percent of the people that live in this state, in the economy, great things happen,” Pastore said.
Pastore also expressed high hopes for the collaboration with PMI.
“This investment from PMI will enable us to continue the critical work we do to support economic independence through entrepreneurship for women in Connecticut,” said Pastore. “We are pleased that PMI has trusted us to use these funds to continue to help women access capital, education, and resources to support themselves and fuel employment within our state. Over the past few years, we have seen a 275% increase in the number of women who come to us seeking to launch or scale their business. Without the support of corporations in our community like PMI, this growth, and the growth we anticipate in the future, would not be possible.”
