Head of Travel Retail and Luxury

About the role

The Head of Travel Retail and Luxury at Abu Dhabi Airports Company is a senior leadership position responsible for shaping the strategic direction, commercial performance, and operational excellence of all duty‑free and retail concessions across Abu Dhabi airports. The role aims to maximise non‑aeronautical revenue while delivering a world‑class passenger shopping experience that aligns with Abu Dhabi’s ambition to become a global aviation hub.

Key responsibilities

• Define and execute the travel retail strategy in line with ADA’s commercial objectives.
• Manage the overall travel retail budget, including planning, allocation, monitoring and performance assessment.
• Develop a long‑term airport retail masterplan covering passenger segmentation, premiumisation, category mix and integration of local and sustainable brands.
• Identify and implement initiatives to increase spend per passenger and overall retail revenues.
• Lead commercial negotiations with global and regional concessionaires across duty‑free, luxury, fashion, electronics and specialty categories.
• Design and implement concession and operating models, including minimum guarantees, revenue‑sharing agreements, joint ventures and management contracts.
• Oversee selection, onboarding and performance management of retail partners to ensure compliance with ADA service standards.
• Monitor global airport retail trends, passenger consumption behaviour and competitive benchmarks.
• Ensure seamless integration of retail operations with passenger flows, terminal design and airport operations.
• Establish and monitor KPIs for partners, vendors and internal teams covering sales performance, customer satisfaction, operational efficiency and regulatory compliance.
• Drive digital retail innovation, including e‑commerce platforms and loyalty programmes.

Required profile

• Minimum 120 months (10 years) of experience in travel retail, duty‑free, or related commercial leadership.

Required skills

• Travel retail strategy
• Loyalty programs
• Data‑driven marketing
• Performance management
• Digital retail innovation
• Commercial negotiations
• Concession and operating models
• E‑commerce platforms
• Airport retail masterplan