Michael Thorne-Begland is Vice President & Chief Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Officer for Altria In his role, Michael has responsibility for leading Altria’s inclusion, diversity and equity efforts. This work is central to how Altria will achieve its 10-year Vision of responsibly leading the transition of adult smokers to a non-combustible future. In 2018, Michael became Altria's first Chief Transformation Officer to lead Altria’s cultural transformation. For nearly ten years prior to assuming the Transformation role, Michael led Altria's Brand & Trade Channel Integrity department, which was responsible for, among other things, proactively addressing third-party criminal activity that involved Altria’s products and brands. Prior to joining Altria, Michael practiced law with the firm Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP in Richmond, Va., specializing in international corporate and commercial matters. Michael graduated from the College of William & Mary and the T.C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond. He is currently pursuing an executive MBA at UVA’s Darden School of Business. He lives in Richmond, Virginia with his husband of 30 years and 18-year-old daughter and son.