The anti-smoking group Ash Ireland has criticised the decision of former Bank of Ireland chairman Richard Burrows to accept the chairmanship of British American Tobacco (BAT).
Mr Burrows has been a key figure in Irish sailing for several decades.
Ash Ireland chairwoman Dr Angie Brown highlighted Mr Burrows links with sport and said she was surprised that "such an esteemed figure" had decided to link up with the tobacco industry.
"Mr Burrows will be well aware that millions of people die from the effects of smoking around the world each year and many of these cigarettes are developed and manufactured by BAT," she said.
"This is an industry which aggressively markets an addictive killer product - and still endeavours to maintain that passive smoke is harmless - despite it being graded as a class one carcinogen by the WHO [World Health Organisation].
A spokeswoman for BAT said Mr Burrows was on holidays and was therefore unable to respond to the criticism. She said there was no suggestion that Mr Burrows was going to promote smoking, or to link sport with tobacco, when he took up his new role.
"Lots of our directors working for this company have outside interests.That doesn't preclude them from holding such positions," she said.
In a statement announcing his appointment, Mr Burrows said: "I am delighted to have been given such an exciting opportunity at such a world class company. I look forward to working with my new colleagues on the board and getting to know the rest of the executive team led by Paul Adams".
