22nd Century Group, Inc. announced that on February 27, 2023, the Company promoted Peter Ferola to the position of Chief Legal Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Ferola, age 54, has served as the General Counsel since November 2022. Mr. Ferola has over 30 years of progressive leadership experience in business management, legal affairs and corporate governance.

Most recently, he served as Project Counsel in Greenberg Traurig LLP's corporate securities group. From 2011 to 2020 he served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel at BioTelemetry, Inc. From 2009 to 2011, Mr. Ferola served as Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Nipro Diagnostics, Inc. (formerly Home Diagnostics, Inc., NASDAQ: HDIX). Prior to joining Home Diagnostics, Mr. Ferola worked as a corporate and securities attorney with Greenberg Traurig, LLP and with Dilworth Paxson, LLP in Washington, D.C., focusing on mergers, acquisitions, public securities offerings and corporate governance matters.

From 1989 to 2002, Mr. Ferola worked in executive management roles for an American Stock Exchange listed company, most recently serving as Vice President—Administration and Corporate Secretary, overseeing the company's administrative functions, legal matters and investor relations. Mr. Ferola earned a Bachelor of Science and Juris Doctor degree from Nova Southeastern University and a Master of Laws in Securities and Financial Regulation from Georgetown University Law Center. Mr. Ferola has authored numerous articles on corporate and securities laws, with a particular focus on audit committees and regulations implemented in the wake of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Mr. Ferola also serves as a FINRA arbitrator and a panelist on the NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Panel.