About

Since its inception in 1994 as a joint venture between US cigarette company Philip Morris International and Turkish conglomerate Sabancı Holding, Philip Morris Sabanci (PMS) has gone on to establish a strong presence in the Turkish cigarette and tobacco market. The company is responsible for the national distribution and sales of Philip Morris cigarette brands. Currently, its distribution network serves around 143,000 sales outlets in approximately 81 cities throughout Turkey. Following a policy directive from its parent company, PMS supports comprehensive regulation of tobacco products based on the principle of ‘harm reduction’. However, striking the balance between complying with effective tobacco regulation and identifying laws which impose unnecessary impediments to the operation of the legitimate tobacco market is hardly an easy task. Still, the PMS legal team has been exceptional in its navigation of this contemporary industry-specific challenge. Through a policy of ‘close working’ with all company departments, the legal team, headed by Ahmet Berkan, makes sure that the company fully complies with laws and regulations, and provides all units with comprehensive legal support and knowledge to avoid legal risks. These efforts include providing support on regulation in the sector, drawing up local and international contracts, daily legal support with regards to sales and marketing, corporate relations, production, human resources, finance, information technologies services and operations, in addition to code of business conduct, ethics and compliance programs. At the same time, as a result of the company’s position as an international corporation, PMS legal team regularly works with other legal teams of the Philip Morris International Group in a bid to identify best practices that may afford it a commercial advantage over its Turkish rivals. In the words of one nominator: ‘they have a very strong in-house legal team that is very experienced from both practical and theoretical legal knowledge aspects’.