Our Voice & Actions

I lead a Concept and Experience Design team in Reduced Harm Product Development. We represent the voice of the adult smoker and are responsible for developing a pipeline of smoke-free products for the future. My background is in engineering, and I‘ve had the opportunity to support Altria in many areas of the company in my career, including product development, product commercialization and manufacturing. The future starts today, and I am thankful to work with and learn from amazing colleagues across the enterprise at Altria that are dedicated to our Vision. 
 
Our objective in Reduced Harm Product Development is to build an innovative smoke-free product portfolio. We build prototypes, test with Adult Tobacco Consumers (ATCs), and answer questions about how we can improve product experiences. It goes beyond just the physical product- we think about how it is purchased, carried, used throughout the day, and disposed after use. Every interaction that the ATC has with the product is important to the whole experience.

We are incorporating design thinking, with an intense focus on the ATC experience. We use short design sprints with focused objectives to deliver better experiences. Adult smokers are looking for smoke-free alternatives, and more and more we are hearing a demand for sustainability. ATCs in this category are starting to ask environmental questions- about materials, disposal options, and more. We completed a design sprint in 2020 to identify the right approach to sustainability – ATCs may say they want to recycle, but how much effort are they willing to put in? How can we make it easier for them to responsibly dispose? What if it was actually less effort to dispose responsibly based on how we design the product and packaging? What if we could use more environmentally friendly materials and make the experience better at the same time?

 

Sustainability is built into the compass that guides our product design decisions.

 

It starts with design … right materials, right suppliers, make it easy for the ATC to stay true to their values regarding sustainability and give them the experience they are looking for. 
 
I’m proud of our achievements in product development and Altria’s commitment to protecting the environment. Our culture allows us to push each other to understand what drives real environmental impact. We did a lot of work to understand and improve product experiences in 2020, and I am excited about the continued development of smoke-free products and what they can do to reduce harm to adult smokers and the environment.