Salvatore Aricò has been named as Chief Organization & Transformation Officer at Dufry Group and joins the Global Executive Committee.

Aricò, currently Global Human Resources Director, possesses extensive knowledge of travel retail having joined the Basel-based firm in 2014 linked to the Nuance acquisition.

He will focus on driving further development and transformation of the company’s organisation when he begins his new role on 1 January 2021.

The human resources department will continue to fall within the remit of Luis Marin, Chief Corporate Officer.

‘EXTRAORDINARY CONTRIBUTION’

In a simultaneous announcement today (29 October), Dufry said Deputy Group CEO José Antonio Gea will stand down from his position and as a member of the Global Executive Committee on 31 December.

Having joined Dufry as Global Chief Operating Officer in 2004, Antonio Gea was appointed Deputy Group Chief Executive Officer in 2018.

Julián Díaz, CEO of Dufry Group said: “I welcome Salvatore Aricò as a new member of our Global Executive Committee and wish him ongoing success in his new role and area of responsibility.

“Salvatore has been instrumental in the integration of our transformational acquisitions of Nuance and World Duty Free and has ever since successfully contributed to shape the new company culture and drive the evolution of Dufry’s organisation.”

On behalf of the Board of Directors and the management team, Díaz paid tribute to Antonio Gea’s ‘extraordinary and long-lasting contribution’ to the company.

“José Antonio joined Dufry in 2004 and continuously evolved Dufry’s operational excellence with great dedication thus successfully aligning the business model to both the growth of the company as well as the changing market and customer requirements. We wish him lots of success for his future professional endeavours and all the best for his private life.”

The latest organisational restructure follows changes announced in June, effective in September.