Conference & Research Manager, TFWA & Executive Officer, APTRA

Michael started his career in 1995 as a journalist at European news channel EuroNews in Lyon before joining the network's marketing department. Since then he has worked in both media and new media, as well as for an international NGO, specialising in fundraising, marketing and communications. Michael joined TFWA as Conference & Research Manager in 2006. He is part of the TFWA Marketing and Conference Department, responsible for organising the TFWA World Exhibition and TFWA Asia Pacific & GATE ONE2ONE conferences in Cannes and Singapore , as well as the annual MEDFA Conference. In July this year, he was appointed Executive Officer for the Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA), a position he holds alongside his TFWA role.

Project Director – Egypt Air Duty Free Shops Consultancy, Aer Rianta International (Middle East) W.L.L.

Michael Cashin was appointed to the position of Project Director – Egypt Air Duty Shops Consultancy in February 2005 to lead the consultancy in its seven year contract.  In this period Egypt Air has seen considerable growth and development with sales rising from $50 million to $165 million since then. Further considerable growth is anticipated.

Michael joined the Aer Rianta International parent company, Aer Rianta - Dublin Airport in 1967. He was a project team member in setting up the Dubai Duty Free Shop in 1983 where he gained his first experience in the travel retail business. In 1988, he transferred to Moscow as Director Finance and project team member in setting up Moscow Duty Free. Over the following ten years he set up and managed a number of companies in Russia & Ukraine before heading to Karachi in Pakistan. In 1999 Michael returned to financial matters joining a consultancy team assisting the development of Sofia Airport, Bulgaria. Since 2005 he has worked in Egypt.

Michael is married with two grown daughters.

Vice President and Leader of SH&E’s Airport Services Practice

Ms. Cassotis is a specialist in high-level strategy for decision making at airports, air service development, commercial planning, public outreach and communications. She is an experienced project manager, conducting and overseeing strategic and contingency planning, airport marketing and route and profitability analysis projects for airports, private sector clients and government agencies around the world.

In the current economic environment, Ms. Cassotis is focusing her team on revenue generation for airports and systems of airports worldwide. She is currently working with several major US and European airports to enhance their commercial pre-marketing strategies.

She has been a member of the SH&E Airport Services team since leaving Logan International Airport 12 years ago. At Logan International Airport, Ms. Cassotis was responsible for the public outreach, internal and external communications and strategic planning for the Airside Improvements Planning Project and Logan Modernization.

She is currently a member of ACI’s Commercial Management Committee Trends Working Group. She holds her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Massachusetts.

From its offices in London, Boston, New York and Chicago, SH&E provides trusted advice to airport executives and investors worldwide in the areas of commercial planning, air service development, forecasting, revenue enhancement, cargo marketing and operations, safety and security, environmental and climate change, system planning and economic impact analysis, and privatization.

CEO Chalhoub Group
President, MEDFA

Anthony Chalhoub is currently joint Chief Executive Officer of the Chalhoub Group and General Manager of four luxury brand distribution companies in the region: Habchi & Chalhoub, the Louis Vuitton joint venture, MAC and Fitra.
It was in 1975 that Anthony joined the Group founded and managed by his father, immersing himself in business life by moving to Kuwait where his parents had already been working for several years developing Franco-Kuwaiti relations. He worked hard to promote and gain acceptance from the prominent names in perfumes, high fashion and jewelry.
Mindful of maintaining the image of the brands that placed their trust in him and to keep France's high profile in the Middle East; he has performed all his functions as Overseas Trade Counselor starting in 1991 and took an active part in the "France in Kuwait" exhibitions of 1991, 1994, 1996 and 2004.

• Read more about Anthony Chalhoub

Chairman of Egyptian Tourist Authority

Mr. Amr El-Ezabi was appointed Chairman of the Egyptian Tourist Authority on April 1st, 2007. He has a wealth of experience in the travel and tourism sector spanning over two decades in various leading industry roles. 

Prior to that, El-Ezabi was Assistant Minister of Tourism, where he played a key role in representing the ministry in international tourism forums and exhibitions. He worked closely with the Minister on external marketing campaigns and activities conducted by Egyptian Tourist Offices.

His past positions within the ministry took him across the globe especially as Tourist Attaché in Paris, The Tourist Attaché at the Egyptian Tourist Office in Spain and The Tourist Counselor at Egyptian Tourist Office in Montreal.

Mr. El-Ezabi was born in Egypt in 1960.  He holds a Master Degree in Sociology from the Sorbonne University in France, a Diploma of Modern French Literature from Paris University, and a Bachelor Degree in Science from Cairo University. He has a Tourist Guidance license from Egyptian Ministry of Tourism. He is fluent in Arabic, French, English and Spanish.

Chief Executive Officer – Tourvest Duty Free

Selwyn Grimsley has spent eighteen years in customer facing businesses in Europe and Africa, both in the service retail and consumer leisure segments.

He joined Tourvest Duty Free in August 2007, following financial, commercial, operations and general management roles in businesses as diverse as Unilever, Hertz and Ster Kinekor, market leaders in filmed entertainment in Southern Africa. 

His vision is to globalise the business by gaining recognition within the industry that TDF provides the most dynamic solution in in - flight retailing to maximize revenue and returns to customers.

Senior Vice President, Nyras Ltd.

Former Virgin Blue Airlines commercial chief, David Huttner, joined Nyras Ltd. London as Senior Vice in April 2010 integrationg Planely Spoken, an aviation and tourism consultancy he founded into Nyras.

David had previously spent nine years with the Virgin Group, initially with Virgin Express in Europe and latterly with Virgin Blue in Australia where he was part of the launch team.

After graduating from Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, in 1988, he began working life in the maritime and fuel industries, serving with a number of major companies in the US and the UAE. David joined Virgin Express in Brussels in 1996 as an MBA intern (gaining his degree at INSEAD in France) and rose through various positions to become Deputy Director of Sales & Marketing.

In 2000, he was appointed Head of Commercial for Virgin Blue, becoming one of the three founding officers of the Virgin Group’s new Australian venture. He went on to lead strategy and communications and, subsequently, international development for the carrier.

David has undertaken business consultancy projects for a range of major aviation industry clients, including various airlines, Navitaire, Macquarie Airports, Jersey Airports, Virgin Group and Oman Airports. He has also been commissioned to work on aviation issues for the IFC (World Bank Group). He also previously served on the Board of Directors of Vueling Airlines in Barcelona.

Vice President – Duty Free, Egypt Air Tourism & Duty Free Shops

Mr. Reda Metwally was appointed to the position of Vice president, responsible for the operation of the Egypt Air duty free shops in April 2010.

A career executive in Egypt Air since 1985, Reda started out in the finance division of the airline company.  He was appointed Financial Manager – United Kingdom in 1995 and continued in this role until 1999 when he continued his financial career in Cairo.

During the period from 2006 until 2008 Reda was involved in the exciting activities of creating the new internal airline – Egypt Air Express. He was appointed to the board of directors and acted as a project team member as well as the Financial Manager of this new company. In October 2008 Mr. Metwally transferred to Egypt Air Tourism & Duty Free Shops Company as Financial Manager, where he contributed to the hectic programme of shop redevelopments.

In his new role as Vice president, Reda is working to improve efficiencies inside the company. He is delighted to see that in October 2010, the company achieved its best ever monthly sales of $17.6 million.

Partner and Co-founder of m1nd-set - Global Marketing Intelligence & Solutions

Dr. Peter Mohn (42) graduated as a Psychologist and earned a Ph.D. in Business Psychology at the University of Göttingen, Germany. Peter is of Norwegian origin, has lived in Denmark, Belgium, The Netherlands, Finland, UK and Germany and lives in Switzerland since 2002. Peter has been working for various leading global market research agencies since 1993 and has been in top management positions since 2000. He has been specializing in Travel Retail research since 2004 and consults various leading brands as well as shop operators in this field.

Based at Lake Geneva, m1nd-set is specialized in Travel Retail and Airport marketing research & consulting on a global basis. m1nd-set conducts consumer research at airports, at border shops, on ferries and cruises on over 60 markets worldwide for global Travel Retail brands as well as operators, airports etc. m1nd-set conducts quantitative and qualitative research on many different subjects, such as Travel Retail shopping motivation & behaviour, mystery shopping, brand awareness and evaluation, price elasticity (conjoint surveys), promotion effectiveness, observation of shoppers, travel retail exclusive product testing, segmentation surveys etc.

Founder and Managing Director, Kara Change Management

Kara Change Management specialises in bringing practical support to blue-chip organisations in Banking, FMCG, Motor, Retail, Telcos/IT, Travel and others. For the past 12 years, Kara has developed a track record of no-nonsense expertise in managing change - with objectivity, empathy and sensitivity to human issues. The work ranges from…

1. Auditing and Troubleshooting for problems and solutions
2. Practical Support in managing change
3. Training Programmes to develop skills

Kara’s founder and Managing Director Alan O’Neill mba gained his front line management experience initially in retail (as owner / manager). He currently holds directorships in distribution companies in the Homewares Industry and in the Hair and Beauty Industry.

Alan brings expertise, real empathy and objectivity to all projects. He has a reputation for being very practical and has a talent for balancing great commercial awareness with real concern for organisational and human challenges. Since 1991, he has been lead consultant for many large culture change projects in Ireland, UK, Germany and Middle East. His expertise ranges from supporting and challenging Exec Teams at board level to develop strategy - to facilitating teams to ensure smooth implementation. Using a mix of well tested business models and practical experience, he is skilful at steering a successful path through the inevitable obstacles and achieving measurable results.

When leading training programmes, Alan tailors content to match business needs. Workshops are highly interactive and care is taken to ensure that newly acquired skills are transferred to real life and daily behaviours. With his personable style, he relates equally well to board members as he does to the front line – ensuring individuals maximize their full potential to the benefit of the business.

Deputy General Manager, Cairo Airport Duty Free

Nadia Rashad, Egyptian, born in Cairo, graduated from The Faculty of Arts after finishing her studies in St. Claire’s College.

In the early 70’s, she started collaboration with Mr & Mrs Michel Chalhoub, founders of the Chalhoub Group, at a brand representation level, dealing exclusively in Duty Free.

Following the evolution of the market, the activity diversified into the luxury distribution & retail business, leading Nadia to set up the Egyptian company MAC, with a clear direction to be the market leader in the local market.

Focused on details and perfection, she has always succeeded to reflect the group identity & philosophy as brand builders.

With her wealth of experience in Travel Retail Business, and her challenging spirit, Cairo Airport Duty Free was set up, which today successfully operates in Terminals 1 & 3 at Cairo International Airport.

The group has further developed its duty free activities, which have been extended to Al Alamein International Airport, on the north coast of Egypt.

Today Nadia Rashad is MAC Country Manager, managing both local and travel retail operations in Egypt. A team of more than 500 professional and efficient employees are working for the development of all activities of the business.

Secretary General, ETRC

Keith Spinks became Secretary General of the European Travel Retail Council when it was established in July 2004, having been Director General of its predecessor, the International Travel Retail Confederation, since 2000. Prior to this Spinks held a number of senior positions with a major international tobacco company, including 12 years as Public Affairs Director for its international duty free division. During this period he was closely associated with the industry’s campaigns to preserve intra-EU duty free sales in 1992 and 1999. Spinks brings a wealth of experience in representing the duty free industry in political circles, both within Europe and internationally.

Business Development Manager, IDF

IDF Cairo act as Duty Free retailers, distributors and ship chandlers in Egypt. Sherif joined the company, founded by his father Kamal Toulan, in 2003 after graduating from the American University in Cairo. He started out as Business Development Coordinator until 2005 and is now responsible for managing all new projects within the company. He has acquired several airport retail concessions for IDF and is currently working on developing IDF's domestic subsidiary Global Brands. Sherif is an active member of the American and the German Chamber of Commerce in Cairo.

CEO Inspired Leaders Network

René Carayol specialises in leadership and culture, drawing from his experiences as a senior executive and board member of some of the biggest British and American organisations; from Pepsi (UK) and Marks & Spencer to IPC Media and the Inland Revenue.  He is the best selling author of the leadership and culture bible, “Corporate Voodoo”, a regular television and radio broadcaster for the BBC and a Visiting Professor at Cass Business School.  In 2004 he was awarded an MBE for outstanding service to the business community.
 
René is now CEO of the Inspired Leaders Network, with operations in London, Belfast and Johannesburg. He has provided leadership support to the likes of the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit, the Home Office and McKinsey and Co. and has worked closely with some of the world’s greatest leaders; from former US President Bill Clinton and the last Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev to the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan and former US Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Executive Director – Deputy Publisher, The Moodie Report

Dermot Davitt is an experienced editor and commentator working in the travel retail media. He joined The Moodie Report in April 2006 as Deputy Publisher and Editor of the company's Digital Print Division. Previously he spent 10 years with trade magazine Duty-Free News International, six of those years as Editor-in-Chief. He is based in Galway, Ireland