Michael Neese

Director of Business Planning, Phillip Morris USA

Michael Neese was recently appointed as Director of Business Planning of Phillip Morris USA. In this role, Mr. Neese manages a staff of 10 and executes the Business Planning objectives. He manages the competitive landscape which includes the financial forecasting of each competitor.

Michael was appointed Director of Investor Relations of Altria Group, Inc., in August 2002. In this role, Mr. Neese served as the spokesperson to Wall Street for Altria for nearly five years. He was responsible for communicating about the Altria family of companies to institutional investors and to buy-side and sell-side analysts. To support the investor relations function, Mr. Neese also helped maintain the best sustainable price for the company’s shares through credible communications. In doing so, he spoke about the fundamentals and future prospects of the business and the legal and regulatory environment.

Before joining Altria, Mr. Neese worked at the NASDAQ as a Regional Sales Director. In this capacity, he worked closely with listed company’s management to help maximize their visibility in the investment community through various investor relations services. Prior to joining NASDAQ, Mr. Neese worked as a Financial Consultant for Thomson Financial.

Mr. Neese earned a B.S. in Finance with a minor in English from Virginia Tech. He is a member of the National Investor Relations Institute and is on the Philip Morris Contribution Fund Council. Mr. Neese plans to be more involved with the University and hopes to teach a Finance class in the future.

Originally from Virginia, Mr. Neese relocated back to Virginia as Philip Morris USA relocated its corporate headquarters to Richmond. Michael and his wife Kristin (’94 Virginia Tech graduate) became proud parents of twins in July 2004. He enjoys hiking, skiing, tennis, golf and attending Virginia Tech football games.