"We wanted a name for the parent company that would be separate from all of the subsidiaries, giving us maximum flexibility for the future. [Changing a corporate name] is a big
undertaking. You don't want to do it too often."
--David Sylvia, director, external communications, Altria Corporate Services, speaking last week at a New York American Marketing Association-sponsored seminar on how Philip
Morris went about changing its name to Altria. The name was officially changed in January.