About Us

Our first In Focus event is shaped by the expertise of our Tobacco Harm Reduction Subcommittee members. Each member has generously shared their specialized knowledge and unique insights to help create this intensive half-day online event. In Focus: Tobacco Harm Reduction will feature all the hallmarks of our prestigious annual Global Tobacco & Nicotine Forum, now in its 11th year—a dynamic, global conversation that expands perspectives to help shape a sustainable future for the tobacco and nicotine industries.

LindSay Andrews

Lindsay Andrews is vice president of scientific engagement at Juul Labs. In her role, she supports dissemination of Juul Labs’ regulatory science and policy research through scientific publication strategy as well as outreach to the public health and policy community. Lindsay received her JD/LLM from Duke University and her BA from Vassar College. 

Mark Kehaya

Mark Kehaya is a past chairman of the Global Tobacco & Nicotine Forum (GTNF) advisory board and current chairman of AMV Holdings, a leading retailer and e-liquid manufacturer in the vapor industry. He was a member of the board of Pyxus International, formerly Alliance One International (AOI). He served as interim CEO of AOI from December 2010 until February 2013.

From April 1993 to March 2000, Kehaya was employed by Standard Commercial Corp., a predecessor company to AOI, serving as assistant to the president, finance director of the tobacco division, vice president for planning and CEO of Standard Commercial Corp.’s tobacco processing facility in St. Petersburg, Russia. Kehaya remains a founding partner at Meriturn Partners, an investment firm specializing in restructurings and turnarounds of middle-market companies.

David O’Reilly

David O’Reilly was appointed to the management board of British American Tobacco (BAT) as group scientific and R&D director in January 2012. He graduated from Imperial College London in 1991 with a Ph.D. in molecular virology. He continued to pursue this area of research when he joined Advanced Technologies Cambridge, a subsidiary of BAT.

In recent years at BAT, O’Reilly has been a driving force behind the creation and growth of BAT’s multidisciplinary global R&D effort in consumer-led, science-based innovation in next-generation tobacco and nicotine products. He has also led the company’s programs in corporate social responsibility, tobacco harm reduction and scientific and public health policy and engagement. He is co-founder of the Global Tobacco & Nicotine Forum (GTNF) and chairman emeritus of the GTNF advisory board.

Valerie Solomon

Valerie Briggs Solomon is assistant general counsel and vice president of- regulatory for RAI Services Company, part of Reynolds American Inc. (RAI), an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of British American Tobacco. Among other responsibilities, Solomon supports the scientific and regulatory affairs, research and development, marketing, operations and external affairs functions and advises the RAI Group on state, federal and international regulatory compliance. She also engages globally on strategy and policy related to nicotine and tobacco harm reduction. 

Prior to joining the RAI Group in 2010, Solomon was in private practice in Washington, D.C., where she counseled clients in the food, medical device and pharmaceutical industries on various regulatory, litigation, policy and business matters. She previously served as vice president for healthcare research at a New York-based investment, advisory and consulting firm. Solomon serves on the board of directors of Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina Inc. and is a founding member of the REACH Women’s Network of Winston-Salem. 

Solomon holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale University and a Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from Washington College of Law, American University.

Joe Murillo

Joe Murillo currently serves as chief regulatory officer for Juul Labs Inc., where he leads global regulatory strategy, engagement, research and advocacy. In his role, he is responsible for the company’s efforts to comply with FDA regulation and he oversees government affairs, scientific affairs and corporate responsibility.

Throughout the course of his career, Murillo has developed extensive knowledge of bringing  combustible cigarette alternatives to market. Prior to joining Juul Labs, he served as Altria Client Services’ senior vice president of regulatory affairs. In this role, he led regulatory strategies and FDA submissions for Altria’s harm reduction product portfolio.

Murillo began his career as a commercial litigator in New York City and is a graduate of Columbia Law School as well as the University of Miami.

Zhiqiang Shi

Zhiqiang Shi graduated from the Department of Precision Instruments at Tsinghua University in 1994. He received a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Tennessee Technological University in 1996 and Georgia Institute of Technology in 2001, respectively. His research was on vibration/acoustics, material fatigue and its nondestructive testing and evaluation (NDT/NDE).

From April 2001 to April 2014, Shi worked at the Corning R&D Center in Corning, New York. He pioneered the use of ultrasound-based NDE technologies in ceramic substrates and diesel particulate filter (DPF) applications in early 2002, which was adopted as the industry standard in product quality control and extended to the ceramic manufacturing process.

Shi then established the Center of Excellence in Applied Acoustics and NDE. His team developed multiple key solutions for micro-crack detection, material homogeneity, micro-crack growth under thermal-mechanical stress and in situ material property characterization during ceramic sintering. These helped compute the thermal-mechanical stress and optimize the sintering schedule to minimize cracking failure, and they contributed to the successful commercial launch of multiple large-size DPF products. His team also systematically evaluated other NDE technologies for ceramic applications.

Shi also led the development of multiple acoustic product design and technology development based on display glass and smartphone cover glass. These include lightweight Gorilla laminated glass for automotive glazing, flat-panel glass speakers in TVs and architectural interior, and micro-perforated glass ceramic for sound absorbing, which helped to establish new business joint ventures to pursue new market and business opportunities.

From April 2014 to July 2017, Shi joined Saint-Gobain’s North America R&D Center in Northborough, Massachusetts. As the group leader and senior principal scientist, he established the architectural acoustics and materials lab, built the team and capabilities, developed the strategies in product and technology development, and established close collaboration with the marketing and strategy team. His team led the commercial launch of high-performance laminated gypsum board and acoustic sound-absorbing ceiling tiles.

Eve Wang

Eve Wang is marketing director of Shenzhen Smoore Technology Co., an e-cigarette manufacturer with its own brands, Vaporesso and ODM division. Prior to Smoore, she worked for Huabao, the largest tobacco flavor maker in Asia. She also leads Smoore’s compliance team to position the company for the regulatory landscapes in the U.S. and the EU.

Before joining the tobacco industry, Wang spent years in consumer electronics and other sectors for all aspects of marketing worldwide.