Silke Muenster, Chief Diversity Officer at Philip Morris International (PMI)

Ms. Muenster was appointed Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) at Philip Morris International (PMI) in March 2020 – a newly-created role reporting directly to the CEO. She joined PMI in 2011, where she was director, Market and Consumer Research until 2012 when she became vice president, Market Research.

At PMI, she is known for being incredibly proactive on inclusion and diversity (I&D)—she is a coach and mentor to other women, has built a women’s network at PMI and prior to her current role, worked
closely with senior leaders across the organization on workplace strategies and tactics to advance I&D.

Over the past months, she has successfully expanded the focus of the company’s I&D strategy and established a number of global Employee Resources Groups (including on gender, race and ethnicity, and LGBTQ+ inclusion) with the purpose of creating a space for community and connection among employees, and to foster a sense of belonging, visibility, and greater understanding of different experiences and dimensions of diversity at PMI.

Prior to PMI, she spent 12 years in leading research roles at the Coca-Cola Company, four years at Apollinaris & Schweppes and four years at Marbert Kosmetik. She began her career at Research International after earning her degree in mathematics from Ruhr University, Bochum in Germany.

Philip Morris International (PMI) is a leading international tobacco company engaged in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes, smoke-free products and associated electronic devices and accessories, and other nicotine-containing products in markets outside the U.S. PMI is building a future on a new category of smoke-free products that, while not risk-free, are a much better choice than continuing to smoke. PMI’s smoke-free IQOS product portfolio includes heated tobacco and nicotine-containing vapor products.

As of July 2020, PMI estimates that approximately 11.2 million adult smokers around the world have already stopped smoking and switched to PMI’s heated tobacco product, which is currently available for sale in 57 markets in key cities or nationwide under the IQOS brand.

For more information, see our PMI (https://www.pmi.com/) and PMIScience (https://www.pmiscience.com/) websites.

Our priority is to attract, support and keep with us diverse and unique individuals. Our global workforce of more than 77,000 people is one of our greatest strengths and the key to our success as a company. Our employees speak more than 80 languages and come from all corners of the world. PMI has been certified as a “Global Top Employer” for the third consecutive year. PMI teams have been awarded in 50 countries; representing 5 regional certifications : Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America and Latin America; in recognition of the high standards of excellence in our working environment and the exceptional development opportunities we offer.