PRESTON D. WIGNER was elected Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Universal Corporation effective October 1, 2024. Previously, he had served as Senior Vice President of Universal Corporation and Executive Vice President of Universal Leaf Tobacco Company ( Universal Leaf ) from April 1, 2024 until October 1, 2024. Prior to those roles, Mr. Wigner served as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Universal Corporation and Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Assistant Secretary of Universal Leaf from November 2005 until April 2024, and served as the Company s Chief Compliance Officer from 2007 to 2012. Mr. Wigner is also Chair of the Universal Leaf Board of Directors and Chairman of Universal Ingredients, Inc. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Wigner served as an associate with the law firms Williams Mullen; and Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP (formerly Hunton & Williams LLP). Through his years of service with Universal and as Chairman of the Board, Mr. Wigner provides strong and thoughtful leadership to the Board of Directors, using his extensive risk oversight, management and corporate governance experience. In addition, as President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Wigner is able to communicate with and inform the Board of Directors about the Company s management team, day-to-day operations, customer relationships, important industry developments, and the execution of the Company s strategic initiatives. The Board of Directors believes that Mr. Wigner s deep industry knowledge, governance expertise and forward-looking thinking brings an invaluable perspective to the Company s current operations and its ongoing relationships with customers and suppliers, and provides great value to the Board of Directors.