When Suzanne Rich Folsom joined Philip Morris International as general counsel in July 2020, the company was on the verge of an epic restructuring and strategic reorientation.

The company—which was spun out of Altria Group in 2008 to focus on cigarette sales outside of the United States, where litigation and regulation had created a drag on performance—had begun plotting a smoke-free future, venturing into pharmaceuticals as well as products that don’t burn tobacco, such as heated tobacco products and nicotine pouches.