As of May 2022, Alexander Pitchka is the new General Manager of JTI Romania, Moldova, and Bulgaria.
Alexander Pitchka joined JTI in 1997 in Global Supply Chain in Ukraine. He has held various positions in Finance and contributed to JTI business in series of countries, including Korea and Russia. He moved to Geneva in 2012 to lead the Finance function for the JTI Central Europe region, and in 2013 became Regional Chief Financial Officer for the Eastern Europe region including some Asian markets. In 2018, Alexander was appointed General Manager of Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. In 2020, he took over the General Manager role of JTI Kazakhstan, Central Asia & Mongolia.
Alexander Pitchka stated: “JTI will soon celebrate its third decade in Romania, and I am proud to take over the leadership of our business here, with such a robust record of achievements constituting the fundaments of future success. We now have more than 30 percent share of market and continue to grow organically. JTI is a big taxpayer, an important producer and a major exporter and has a solid reputation in the country. Our contribution to the promotion of the Japanese culture in Romania was recently recognized at the highest level by the Minister of Foreign Affairs from Japan. JTI was the first tobacco company to sign with authorities in 2005 a partnership for fighting contraband and since then we continued to be a reliable partner of law enforcement agencies. Together with the professional team I found here, we will continue to develop our brands and our people, and to be involved in the community, as we have done for almost 30 years”.
The management team from Romania coordinates JTI’s businesses in Moldova and Bulgaria.
JTI is one of the first multinational companies established locally, since 1993 and has so far invested in Romania over 250 million euros. JTI factory located in Bucharest is exporting products in over 50 countries around the world.
JTI has more than 1,200 employees in Romania and is ”The number one employer” in the country according to the assessment undertaken by the Top Employers Institute for 23 certified companies locally.
JTI started its business in Romania in 1993, and since then has been actively involved in community life: the company is a partner of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, Transylvania International Film Festival, national musical tours in small cities, `Coolsound` and `A hand for the poet` projects, official sponsor of Gigi Caciuleanu Romania Dance Company. JTI Romania was recently awarded by the Foreign Minister of Japan, for its efforts to promote Japanese culture in Romania. JTI supports the Japanese Garden in Herastrau Park, the Tea House within the National Museum of Art and the Centre for Romanian – Japanese Studies within the Romanian American University. “JTI Encounters”, an event launched in 2000, has become a national cultural brand in contemporary dance. Since 2000 the company supports JTI Scholarships for Journalists, being also partner of Internship 2.0. JTI Romania has developed since 1998 the `Seniorii JTI` program, through which more than 40 elderly people receive a daily meal. The company also sustains social projects across the country, being partners of Samusocial, Ateliere fara frontiere, ARC, SoSiSeSa and other NGOs, aiming to support inclusive programs and people in distress.
JTI is a leading international tobacco and vaping company with operations in more than 130 countries. Headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, JTI employs over 40,000 people. JTI is a member of the Japan Tobacco Group of Companies. For more information, visit www.jti.com.