Brian M. Lawrence was born in London, England in 1939. Prior to working in the tobacco industry, Brian spent over 20 years working in the pharmaceutical industry as a technician, manager, researcher and advisor for private and public organizations. In 1960, he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study chemistry in Chicago and in 1978 he obtained his doctorate in Pharmacognosy, while working full-time in Canada.
In 1978, Brian returned to the United States to work for various divisions of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. In 1978, he was director of Research and Development for Aromatics International. After the sale of Aromatics International in 1979, he assumed the position of director, Research and Development for the Avoca Division (a 3,600 acre farm in Eastern North Carolina) until 1984. From 1984-1990, he transferred to become manager of the Flavor Division and had responsibility for all domestic and international tobacco additives for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. In 1990, he was promoted to principal scientist and in 2000, to senior principal scientist/manager, Flavor Division, a position he held until he retired in 2003.
Today, Brian has a consultancy business on essential oils, flavor chemistry and tobacco science. He also teaches a course titled “The Flavor Chemist's World of Product Development” for Tobacco Associates and other private companies.