He will become chairman on 1 November, when Jan du Plessis steps down in the light of his own appointment as chairman of Rio Tinto Plc from 20 April 2009.
Burrows' executive career has been with Irish Distillers, where he was chief executive from 1978 - 2000, and at Pernod Ricard SA, where he was co-chief executive from 2000 - 2005, based in Paris.
His current non-executive roles include Rentokil Initial plc and Carlsberg A/S, while he was Governor of the Bank of Ireland from 2005 - 3 July 2009.
Burrows is also a member of the Trilateral Commission which fosters closer co-operation among democratic industrialised nations. He served as president of the Irish Business and Employers Confederation from 1998 - 2000, as chairman of the National Development Corporation from 1984 - 1988 and chairman of the Scotch Whisky Association 2006 - 2007.
Commenting on the appointment, Sir Nick Scheele, the senior independent director at British American Tobacco, said: "Richard's executive career in the worldwide FMCG sector makes him an excellent choice, as does his proven ability to work with a team from various cultures and countries.
"He is also an experienced non-executive director and the board of British American Tobacco looks forward to the additional perspective he will be able to bring.
"On behalf of the board, I would like to wish Jan every success as chairman of Rio Tinto. In his five years as chairman, British American Tobacco has performed consistently well, made two major acquisitions and delivered outstanding returns to shareholders."
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