Alison Jane Cooper (born 31 March 1966) is a British businesswoman. She is the former chief executive officer (CEO) of

Imperial Brands Imperial Brands plc (formerly Imperial Tobacco Group plc), is a British multinational tobacco company headquartered in Bristol, England. It is the world's fourth-largest international cigarette company measured by market share after Philip Mor ...

, the world's fourth-largest tobacco company as measured by market share. In February 2020, it was announced that she would be leaving as CEO in October 2020.

Early life

Cooper grew up in

Kingston-upon-Thames Kingston upon Thames (hyphenated until 1965, colloquially known as Kingston) is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, southwest London, England. It is situated on the River Thames and southwest of Charing Cross. It is notable as ...

, Surrey, in a family where "money was stretched". She was educated at the nearby

Tiffin Girls' School ("Dare to be Wise") , established = , closed = , type = Grammar Academy , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = Headteacher , head = Ian Keary , r_head_label = , r_head = , ch ...

, an all-girls' grammar school, and later gained a bachelor's degree in mathematics and statistics from

Bristol University , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

. After she gained her degree she spent a

gap year A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is typically a year-long break before or after college/university during which students engage in various educational and developmental activities, such as travel or some type of regular work. Gap yea ...

teaching in Kenya on a voluntary basis.

Career

Cooper went to work for accountancy firm

Deloitte Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of profession ...

, Haskins & Sells in Bristol as an auditor. This company later became

PricewaterhouseCoopers PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

, where she worked in acquisitions and strategy planning. She joined Imperial Tobacco in 1999 as group finance manager and was promoted to group financial controller in 2001. She rose to chief operating officer in 2009, before becoming chief executive officer in 2010. Cooper took over from

Gareth Davis Gareth Davis (born May 1950) is a British businessman. Appointed by Lord Hanson, he was the CEO of Imperial Tobacco, the world's 4th largest international cigarette company, from 1996 until May 2010. He is the chairman of Wolseley plc, DS Smith ...

, who had held the position for fourteen years. She said at the time, "We need a change in mindset. Tobacco has been traditional in the way it has operated. We want to move from being a tobacco manufacturer to a FMCG nowiki/>fast-moving_consumer_goods.html" ;"title="fast-moving_consumer_goods.html" ;"title="nowiki/>fast-moving consumer goods">nowiki/>fast-moving consumer goods">fast-moving_consumer_goods.html" ;"title="nowiki/>fast-moving consumer goods">nowiki/>fast-moving consumer goodscompany." Cooper was a non-executive director of

Inchcape plc Inchcape plc is a British multinational automotive distribution, retail and services company headquartered in London. An outgrowth of Calcutta-based Mackinnon Mackenzie Company, Inchcape has operations in 32 countries across Asia, Australia, ...

from July 2009 until she stepped down in 2017. In October 2012, Cooper noted that she and Burberry's Angela Ahrendts were the only two female CEOs running FTSE 100 Index companies. Until 2020, Cooper was one of only 5 other female CEOs among UK's top 100 companies. In February 2013, she was assessed by

Woman's Hour ''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946. History Created by Norman Collins and originally presented by A ...

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC' ...

as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom. In October 2019, following a profits warning a few days earlier, Alison Cooper announced that she would step down as a CEO once a replacement is found. She is considered the second high profile exit to the company. Her successor, Stefan Bomhard, CEO of

was announced on 3 February 2020.

Personal life

Cooper is married to an accountant with two daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Alison Living people 1966 births British chief executives British women business executives British accountants British corporate directors People educated at the Tiffin Girls' School Alumni of the University of Bristol