DFS Group confirmed yesterday that Christian Strang, a 17-year veteran of the travel retail industry, has been named Senior Vice President, Business Development with immediate effect. As reported by TREND he is joining DFS from

The Nuance Group, where he was most recently Ceo of Nuance?s operations in Australia and New Zealand.
Strang is effectively succeeding Michael Zacharia in a business development role. Zacharia, Executive Vice President, Business Development and General Counsel, is retiring after 11 years with DFS. He plans to return to the United States and pursue a new career as a mediator.
Strang now reports to Mark D. Daley, President Worldwide Store Operations and Business Development. Zacharia?s successor in the legal role has not yet been determined. DFS Chairman and Ceo Edward Brennan said, ?We are very pleased to welcome Christian Strang to DFS Group. He joins DFS with 24 years of experience in the retail industry, including 17 years in the travel retail business, with an extensive background in retail operations, business development and sales and marketing. His appointment is an important and strategic addition to the DFS senior management team as we intensify our focus on expansion throughout Asia.?
Brennan continued, ?Michael Zacharia has served DFS with distinction for more than a decade in both San Francisco and Hong Kong. We appreciate his many contributions and wish him well as he plans his return to California, where he will continue his legal education and then embark on a new career in dispute resolution.?
Strang, 46 years old, is a British citizen and a permanent resident of Australia. He was educated in the United Kingdom at St. Edmund?s College and Loughborough University. He will be based in DFS Group?s corporate office in Hong Kong. Zacharia, 55, joined DFS in 1996 as head of Business Development and was additionally named General Counsel in 1998. A former White House Fellow, he previously served in the administrations of US Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.