Andrew Cripps has joined the board of Trifast, the industrial fastener maker, to help the company boost its global profile.
The chartered accountant will be a non-executive director. He will also become chairman of the Uckfield company's remuneration committee.
Mr Cripps, 47, is head of strategy development at London-based British American Tobacco.
Jim Barker, chief executive of Trifast, said Andrew's "wealth of knowledge" would be invaluable to Trifast as it continued to develop its global brand and positioning.
The company is saying goodbye to John Wilson who has announced his retirement from the board after 26 years, relinquishing his non-executive director role from the end of the year.
Mr Barker said: "John was a principal player in the development of Trifast from a UK business to an international player."
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