Lagardère Travel Retail has appointed Séverine Lanthier as Chief Strategy and Development Officer effective today (27 April).

Lanthier, joins from global luxury group Kering, where she held the role of Gucci World Travel Retail Director and Kering Global Head of Travel Retail since 2015.

In the newly created role,  she will oversee business development, strategy and external communication, reporting directly to Dag Rasmussen, CEO of Lagardère Travel Retail and lead the group’s innovation programme.

STRONG INTERNATIONAL BACKGROUND

Now in her second spell with the company, she first joined in 2004 to launch its Chinese operations and was CEO until 2008.

After, she managed several business development initiatives in Europe which led to the acquisition of Aeroporti di Roma’s duty-free activities in 2012. Lanthier ran this operation as CEO until 2015 and successfully managed the integration of the business into the Lagardère Travel Retail group.

Rasmussen commented: “I am thrilled to be welcoming Séverine to our executive team. Her international background in Europe and Asia and global experience and deep knowledge of travel retail and brands will strongly reinforce our organisation.

“She is joining us in very challenging times. I am confident she will be a great addition in helping us get past the crisis and lay the foundations to a brighter, stronger future for the business.”

He added: “The decision to strengthen our strategy and business development teams with her appointment is testament to our trust in the future of travel retail as a global industry for many years to come.”