Altria lands in Chicago the week of CEO succession and Q1 earnings follow-up

Altria flew from Reno to Chicago O’Hare on Tuesday afternoon, arriving just after 2 p.m. local time after a three-hour, 17-minute hop across the Great Basin and the Plains. The company’s Gulfstream G600, tail N805AG, had spent the previous day in Nevada, a state whose tax and regulatory landscape often draws corporate strategists.

The trip lands the same week outgoing CEO Billy Gifford prepares to retire at Altria’s annual shareholder meeting on May 14, per a December SEC filing [sec.gov](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/764180/000076418025000133/exhibit991december112025pr.htm). CFO Sal Mancuso, who just led the Q1 earnings call on April 30, is set to take over. Chicago is a major hub for Altria’s investor relations and distribution operations, making it a logical stop for transition-related meetings or analyst briefings.

The flight follows a pattern of midweek business travel: Altria’s jet visited Oklahoma City and Orlando earlier in May, and spent much of late April shuttling between Richmond and Chicago. With a new CEO taking the helm in two days, the timing suggests internal alignment work rather than a routine board visit.