General Cigar Fires President Dan Carr

General Cigar has fired President Dan Carr. There was no reason given but we hope to learn more through a General Cigar press release next week.

According to CigarWorld, the General Cigar website for consumers, Carr joined General Cigar in 1996, was quickly promoted to Vice President of Sales, and in 1999, with the acquisition of General Cigar’s mass market business, moved to Swedish Match as Vice President of Sales. After securing marked increases in sales and profitability, he was appointed Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Swedish Match in 2004.

In 2005, Swedish Match acquired General Cigar, a move which would ultimately bring Carr back to his former company. Upon his return in late 2007, Carr served as Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. In this capacity he has been credited with expanding the brand portfolio, orchestrating innovative marketing platforms, and developing profit-driving sales strategies.

In 2009, Carr was appointed as Chief Operating Officer responsible for the strategic and operational platforms of the company. Carr’s trajectory continued to rise and shortly thereafter in 2010, he was promoted to his current role as President of General Cigar. As President, Carr oversaw the entire global premium cigar business which leads the category with a 35 percent market share and consists of more than 4,500 employees worldwide. In this role, Carr also directed the company’s global sales and marketing functions for legendary brands including but not limited to Macanudo, Partagas, Cohiba, La Gloria Cubana, and CAO. He also oversaw the company’s manufacturing divisions in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Additionally, he was responsible for new product development, product management and strategic planning and also serves on the management board of Scandinavian Tobacco Group.

Carr is a graduate of the Harvard Business School Advanced Management Program and has been profiled in numerous trade and cigar-centric publications and has represented the premium cigar category in editorial feature stories, including USA Today, among others.