Our Team
Cigar Association of America Staff Team
Brian Fojtik
Senior Vice President for Government Relations
Brian Fojtik is the Senior Vice President for Government Affairs of the Cigar Association of America, Inc. (CAA). Before joining CAA Brian spent over 20 years working in state government relations, including 13 years as a state consultant for Reynolds American, Inc. In this position he specifically focused on harm reduction and tax issues. He also spent four years working as a Local Director for NATO.
Brian also previously served as a Senior Fellow for the Reason Foundation, a free market think tank, focusing on tobacco and nicotine issues and consumer freedom.
While working in government relations, Brian worked for a state representative, state senator, Secretary of State, Lieutenant Governor, and a Governor. He also worked on and managed political campaigns in Illinois and Wisconsin.
He received his B.A. in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his J.D. from Loyola University of Chicago and attended the comedy writing program at Second City in Chicago. Brian currently lives in Washington, DC and his three adult children live and work in Chicago.
Dan Cotter
Vice President of Finance and Operations
Dan Cotter joined the CAA team in 2015. He serves as the Vice President of Finance and Operations.
He oversees the association’s financial functions including regulatory and financial reporting, accounting operations, analyzing financial data, functional expense and program activities management, developing and monitoring budgets and forecasts, implementing investment strategies, and coordinating the annual audit by an outside CPA firm.
Dan also manages the operations of the association including the human resource department, CAA website, the social media team and platforms, and IT systems. He provides member companies and other organizations with cigar industry statistical reports and sales reports for benchmarking, trend analysis, and data-driven decision-making processes.
His career spans more than 25 years of diverse experience in financial management, nonprofit and business leadership, customer service and marketing management, and corporate strategy development and implementation. He led our multi-phase year-long rebranding project completed in November 2023 centered around our new mission focus: strong, vibrant, and growing.
Before joining the CAA team in 2015, Dan was the Financial Controller of a multi-location auto dealership, finance company, and real estate developer in Northern Virginia and the Financial Controller of other large retail companies in the Washington, DC metro area. His background includes years of nonprofit audit experience with Coopers & Lybrand, now PricewaterhouseCoopers, and other public accounting firms.
Dan earned a B.S. in Accounting from the University of Maryland.
Mudi Kpohraror
Director of State Government Relations
Mudi is a natural relationship builder and insightful political advocate, skills he puts to good use as a key member of the Cigar Association of America team.
He works closely with the CAA team to craft integrated lobbying and communications strategies and effectively implements those strategies at capitals across the country. Mudi’s work and ability to see issues from various perspectives ensures that CAA’s members are always well-represented and well-informed.
Mudi’s professional experience spans Twitter, the US Army National Guard, US Senator John Hoeven, the North Dakota Republican Party, and the Special Olympics.
Mudi received his B.S. in political science from North Dakota State University and his MPA from the University of Mary.
The CAA Advocacy Team
We believe in having the best team of advocates in place who have years of experience in their respective states and at the federal government level.
Our team ensures prompt responses and actions when governmental regulatory issues or proposed legislation arise that would negatively impact the cigar industry. Seeking the most favorable and timely outcome for our members is the top priority of our advocacy efforts.
Our federal advocacy team in Washington, D.C. works closely with one another on regulatory affairs and federal issues that impact our members. Our network of state advocates spans from coast to coast and includes: the Eastern, the Midwestern, and the Western regions.
Federal Advocacy
Our federal advocacy team focuses on monitoring and taking action on the following issues that impact our members.
Current Regulatory Focus
As an organization we are constantly making progress through our advocacy efforts on behalf of our members and the cigar industry. We make sure to prioritize our main regulatory issues concerning the FDA.
Federal Priorities and Positions
CAA engages with and educates policy makers and regulators on a host of issues that affect the cigar industry. Every year our team closely monitors the legislative environment to ensure that the industry remains unhindered, and industry products continue to be provided to millions of Americans.
Federal Tax Issues
We actively monitor, track, identify and act on the current tax laws and proposed changes to the tax laws that matter most to our member companies and the cigar industry.
State Advocacy
Eastern Region
The Eastern Region represents the largest number of states. In the Eastern Region, CAA has state affairs teams in these states:
Alabama
Arkansas
Connecticut
Florida
Georgia
Louisiana
Massachusetts
Maryland
Maine
North Carolina
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia
Midwestern Region
The Midwestern Region represents fifteen states. In the Midwestern Region, CAA has state affairs teams in these states:
Colorado
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Michigan
Minnesota
Missouri
Mississppi
Montana
Nebraska
Ohio
Oklahoma
Tennessee
Wisconsin
Western Region
The Western Region represents twelve states. In the Western Region, CAA has state affairs teams in these states:
