KOL Agency Co-owner Filip Soete has been named as Global Business Development Consultant at The Design Solution.

The Design Solution (TDS) has appointed former Nice Côte d’Azur Airport Chief Commercial Officer Filip Soete as Global Business Development Consultant.

The KOL Agency Co-owner will draw on his decades of leadership experience to assist TDS in its strategic growth programme, as the London-based specialist in airport planning and retail design seeks to consolidate its position as a leading provider of services in airport planning, travel retail design, F&B planning and design and branding.

Soete will report to TDS Managing Director and Founder Robbie Gill.

Nick Taylor, Director, The Design Solution, commented: “We are delighted to welcome the arrival of Filip as a powerful marker in our growth plans. As a respected and much-liked figure in the airport world, he blends immense experience of airport operations, including the highly successful transformation of the passenger experience and non-aeronautical revenue performance at Nice Côte d’Azur Airport.

“Within this, he holds a deep understanding of how TDS operates from our work at Nice Airport across a number of major development projects over the past twenty years or so.

“Filip shares our commitment to creating airport environments that enhance the passenger and shopper experiences while delivering highly effective commercial returns, making him the ideal industry ambassador for our work.

Nick Taylor, Director, TDS

Growth strategy

“We’re developing our specialist skills in a number of areas to expand and deepen the range of services and support that we provide to airports, retailers, brands and  F&B operators, as well as retailers outside the travel retail world.

Soete said: “KOL Agency is honoured and delighted to support The Design Solution, the industry-renowned, best-in-class architecture and design agency, in its global business development strategy. We will proactively engage with key stakeholders across the travel retail and airport sectors to explore every business opportunity, including delivering new standards of passenger experience and supporting the revenue performance of retail and airport partners.

“I’m delighted to once again be working with TDS and thank Robbie, Graeme, Nick, Kevin, Tom and the entire TDS team for their trust and support, and I look forward to supporting the company in its exciting future growth plans.”

TDS unveiled a new growth strategy in 2024 in the company’s 40^th year anniversary and confirmed long-serving employees Kevin Patience and Tom Johnson in Director positions aligned to a new ownership model.

Both have assumed responsibility for deepening the company’s skillset in areas such as F&B design and the adoption of new digital technology in the design process.

TDS says it is currently working on projects in more than a dozen countries across all four continents.