WH Smith has appointed Ziad El-Assad as Senior Vice President, Business Development — USA.

El-Assad will lead WH Smith’s US travel retail expansion, formulate brand partnerships and establish operating joint ventures.

Prior to WH Smith, El-Assad served as Vice President of Business Development for NewsLink Group.

OPPORTUNE TIME

He said: “I am thrilled to join WH Smith and lead expansion efforts within the US.

“With all the recent consolidation in the travel retail industry, this is an opportune time for a world-class organisation with a long and rich history in travel retail to enter the US market and offer both airports and passengers alike fresh and innovative travel convenience and retail concepts.”

Phil McNally, Managing Director, WH Smith International commented: “Since WH Smith’s acquisition of InMotion Entertainment in November 2018, we have been developing our plan to enter the US News and Gifts Travel market with the WH Smith brand.

“I am delighted that Ziad, with his many years of experience in the industry, has decided to join WH Smith at this very exciting time.  The appointment of Ziad is a crucial step towards our goal of establishing a meaningful presence for the WH Smith brand in the US.”