Lagardère Travel Retail has appointed Keith Tam as CEO of its North Asia division and Ann Pang as deputy CEO.
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The French travel retailer said the new leadership comes as the company prepares to accelerate growth in the region by capitalising on China’s “very dynamic” traffic recovery.
Tam is an experienced and well-known figure in the travel retail world, possessing an in-depth understanding of the industry in Asia built over 15 years with DFS in the region.
He replaces Eudes Fabre, who left in March, and assumes the leadership of the company’s operations in Mainland China, Hong Kong and Japan.
In his Shanghai-based role, Tam is charged with developing Lagardère Travel Retail’s position as the first international travel retailer to run multi-sector operations across travel essentials, duty free and duty paid retail, and food & beverage. That spectrum of services now covers more than 25 airports and 30 train stations.
Ann Pang’s new role, based in Shanghai, is in addition to her continuing role as CEO of Lagardère Travel Retail for Singapore & Malaysia.
As noted, Tam, a Hong Kong and Canadian national, brings extensive experience of the Asian travel retail sector at DFS where he most recently was vice president, strategy & business development. In 2021 he joined K11, the high-end Hong Kong shopping mall operator, as vice president operations.
Pang joined Lagardère Travel Retail in North America as director of corporate planning in 2004. She moved to Singapore in 2011 to become CFO of the company for the Asia region before becoming CEO Singapore & Malaysia in 2020. She has been pivotal to the development of the business in Asia, Lagardère Travel Retail said.
The company said Tam is taking his leadership role at a “critical juncture” for Lagardère Travel Retail’s North Asia business as the regional operation prepares to accelerate growth and strengthen its leadership position.
“After a very challenging three-year period navigating Covid restrictions, and loss of profitability in 2022, the business is on the verge of a strong restart,” the company said.
“The exciting growth opportunities ahead are underpinned by very dynamic traffic trends and the accelerating digitalisation of shopping experiences. Working hand in hand with minority shareholders at JD.com, Keith and his team will deliver an ambitious growth plan to ensure long-term, sustainable profitability of the regional business.”
Lagardère Travel Retail Chief Strategy & Development Officer and COO Asia Séverine Lanthier said: “I am delighted to welcome Keith to our team and very confident he has the right experience and vision to bring our regional business to new heights as we emerge from a very challenging period and get ready to seize new growth opportunities.
“Building on the very strong foundations laid by Eudes and with the support of Ann and the entire North Asia leadership team, Keith will be working hard to consolidate our market-leading position and further develop the business to create unrivalled, holistic travel experiences to our customers and to deliver our operational excellence to landlords in the region. I’m taking this opportunity to thank Ann for the instrumental support she has provided to the teams in North Asia during this leadership transition.”
Source: Moodie Davitt Report