USA. The International Association of Airport and Duty Free Stores (IAADFS) has named three supplier community representatives to its Board of Directors, each for a two-year term.
They are Pernod Ricard Travel Retail Americas General Manager Greg Ford; Puig Travel Retail Americas General Manager Felipe Grant; and Lindt Market Manager GTR – The Americas Markus Suter.
It marks the first time that the organisation’s supplier partners have seats as voting members of the Board of Directors.
IAADFS President & CEO Michael Payne said: “While our supplier partners have long been members of the association, have served on several advisory committees, and have been strong supporters throughout the years, this represents an expanded role and vital addition to the Board.”
IAADFS Chair René Riedi added: “The addition of these three talented and well-respected members of the duty free and travel retail industry, all from prestigious and major industry companies, will be invaluable additions to the Board and our deliberations. This is particularly relevant as we examine how to best respond to the changes and opportunities confronting our industry and evaluate the services that we provide to our members.
“We very much appreciate their support and interest in becoming active members of the Board of Directors. These appointments will bring a varied and in-depth knowledge of their sectors and the overall industry to IAADFS as we adapt to the ever-changing nature of our business.”
Felipe Grant has 20 years of experience in the beauty industry. He has held positions with companies such as L’Occitane and LVMH, before joining Puig in his current role in 2020, where he oversees the channel development of brands such as Carolina Herrera, Rabanne, Jean Paul Gaultier and Penhaligon’s in the region.
Markus Suter has worked for more than 13 years with Lindt. For the last ten years he has been based in Brazil, with responsibility for travel retail in the Americas. He has helped to establish the company’s strong market position in the region with a focus on premiumisation in the channel.
Greg Ford has spent almost 20 years in the liquor industry, including the last nine focused on the travel retail business across Europe and the Americas. Following a decade of working at Diageo, he joined Pernod Ricard in 2018 and currently leads the travel retail business in the Americas, based in Miami. Since relocating to the US from the UK in 2022, he has maintained his role as a strong advocate for the interests of the duty free and travel retail industry throughout the region, noted IAADFS.
Payne said: “We could not be more excited and pleased to have these gentlemen be a part of our Board. With their insights and knowledge of the industry they will be a huge part of our plans and direction going forward.” He added that the association expects to name a further suppler Board member before the Summit of the Americas event in April. ✈
