Dufry Group has announced that Andrés Holzer Neumann will not stand for re-election on the Board of Directors ahead of the Ordinary General Meeting scheduled for 18 May.

Unforeseen time constraints due to other commitments are behind the decision, although Neumann will remain on the Board of Directors of Dufry’s New York Stock Exchange listed subsidiary Hudson Group.

Juan Carlos Torres, Chairman of Dufry’s Board of Directors said: “We regret but understand Andrés’ decision. Andrés was one of the early investors and founders of the new Dufry.

“In the name of the Board of Directors, I would like to thank Andrés for his outstanding support and dedication for the successful development of Dufry during his 17 years as member of our Board of Directors.

“Having said this, our Group will continue to benefit from Andrés’ exceptional experience and insight, as he will remain a member of the Board of Directors of our NYSE-listed subsidiary, Hudson Ltd.

POSITION ON HUDSON BOARD

In his place, the Dufry Board of Directors has proposed to elect Mary J. Steele Guilfoile as an independent member for a term of office extending until completion of the next Ordinary General Meeting.

Steele currently serves as an independent and non-executive member of the Board of Directors of Hudson where she chairs its audit committee and will stand down her position on the Board of Directors if elected to the Dufry Board.

She chairs MG Advisors, a privately owned financial services merger and acquisitions advisory and consulting firm and is a partner of private investment firm The Beacon Group.

In addition, Steele is a member of the boards of directors a C.H. Robinson Worldwide where she also holds positions on the compensation and governance committees, plus several other committee-level and Chair posts with the Interpublic Group of Companies and Pitney Bowes.

Her career has taken in various management positions such as Executive Vice President and Corporate Treasurer at JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Chief Administrative Officer of its investment bank (2000 – 2002).

She is a former Partner, CFO and COO of The Beacon Group, (1996 – 2000).

Guilfoile holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Boston College Carroll School of Management and a master’s degree in business administration from Columbia Business School. She is a certified public accountant.

“I am very pleased to propose Mary J. Steele Guilfoile for election,” added Torres. “She has vast experience and deep insight into the travel industry, logistics services, marketing and finance, and will therefore be a highly valuable addition to our board.

“At the same time, I am very happy that close to 80% of our proposed board members will be independent and that 45% will be female, further increasing diversity.”