On October 8, 2018, Universal Corporation announced that Robert M. Peebles is retiring from the company, effective August 1, 2019. Mr. Peebles will continue in his current role as the company’s Vice President and Controller through May 31, 2019. He will be succeeded as Vice President and Controller of the company effective June 1, 2019, by Scott J. Bleicher, Assistant Controller for Universal Leaf Tobacco Company, Incorporated (“ULT”), a subsidiary of the Company. Mr. Bleicher will also succeed Mr. Peebles at such time as the company’s principal accounting officer. Mr. Bleicherhas served as the Assistant Controller for ULT since August 19, 2014. Prior to joining ULT, Mr. Bleicher served as Controller for Baby Jogger, LLC, an international manufacturer and distributor of strollers, accessories and car seats, from 2012 until joining ULT.
Universal Corporation is a global business-to-business agriproducts company. The Company is a global leaf tobacco supplier and provides plant-based ingredients to food and beverage end markets. The Company operates through two segments: Tobacco Operations and Ingredients Operations. The Tobacco Operations segment activities involve contracting, procuring, processing, packing, storing, and shipping leaf tobacco for sale to, or for the account of, manufacturers of consumer tobacco products throughout the world. Through its Ingredients Operations segment, the Company procures raw materials globally and processes the raw materials through a variety of value-added manufacturing processes to produce specialty plant-based ingredients, including fruits, vegetables, botanical extracts, and flavorings for consumer-packaged goods manufacturers, retailers, and food and beverage companies. The Company has operations in over 30 countries on five continents.