The Asia Pacific Travel Retail Association (APTRA) has appointed Nuno Amaral to represent Delhi Duty Free Services (DDFS) on its board following the retirement of Philip Eckles in December 2020.

A member of the DDFS board of directors, Amaral is also Chief Operations and Business Development Officer of Aer Rianta International (ARI) leading global operations in New Zealand, North America, Cyprus, India and The Balkans. He also heads the New Business and Implementation team. ARI has been running the duty free concession for Delhi Duty Free since its opening in 2010.

Sunil Tuli, President of APTRA said: “Nuno is a dynamic leader with a strong background in large multinational retail and brand organisations both within travel retail and other retail sectors.

“His broad experience across many geographies will bring a valuable perspective to the APTRA Board and we all welcome his commitment. I’d like to thank Philip Eckles for his contribution to APTRA and to wish him well in his retirement.”

Amaral commented: “I am delighted to be joining the APTRA board of directors, particularly in the current context. I look forward to working alongside my fellow board members to deliver the vision of the APTRA board which is to strengthen, nurture and protect the duty free and travel retail industry in the APAC region.”

STRATEGIC POSITION

The appointment of Amaral to the APTRA board follows that of Sam Gerber (pictured below) who is now representing the Tax Free World Association (TFWA). Gerber will be part of the APTRA Knowledge committee, a strategic position to ensure sharing of information between the two organisations.

At TFWA, Gerber is Vice President Corporate and a member of the Management Committee. He is also Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Swiss based WorldConnect AG, owner of SKROSS travel adaptors.

In addition to leading the partnership between APTRA and TFWA, his experience as a consumer electronics expert will be valuable in providing perspective on the dynamics of the electronics category, supply chain and routes to market in Asia Pacific.

Tuli remarked: “We’ve very pleased to welcome Sam to the APTRA board and to be continuing our long relationship with TFWA. We’d like to thank Alain Maingreaud for his contribution and support in recent years.

“This is an important time for our industry to build on its strengths and partnerships and, especially, to leverage the power of its trade associations. I’m confident that with Sam, also under Jaya Singh’s presidency at TFWA — himself a former President of APTRA, we are in a good place to partner on future strategies that shape and drive the post-pandemic era of travel retail.”

Gerber added: “I’m excited to be joining the APTRA board at such an important moment in our industry’s evolution and to be responsible for ensuring Asia Pacific has a strong voice on the TFWA Management Committee.

“I’m confident this dynamic region will be seen as the lead innovator in industry recovery and will ensure there is always a proactive and open two-way dialogue and knowledge sharing between both organisations to help stimulate the commercial rebound opportunity for our collective members across the globe.”