Akel Biltaji was born in Gaza, Palestine in 1941. Having graduated with a degree in Education in the summer of 1962, he immediately joined the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO) in Saudi Arabia. In the summer of 1969 he returned to Jordan to join Royal Jordanian Airlines as a senior management officer. In a distinguished 28-year career with the airline he served in various capacities, the last of which was Senior Vice President.
In March 1997 His Majesty, the late King Hussein, appointed Akel Biltaji as Jordan’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities. He continued to serve in this role under His Majesty King Abdullah II until June 2001, when he was appointed by His Majesty as Chief Commissioner for the newly declared Region of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority. In February 2004 King Abdullah appointed Akel Biltaji as His Majesty’s Advisor on Tourism Promotion, Foreign Direct Investment and Country Branding.
In November 2005 His Majesty appointed Akel Biltaji as a member of the House of Senate, where he served as Chairman of the Tourism and Heritage House Committee, and as a member of the Foreign Relations, Health and Environment and Education House Committees. In September 2013 the Prime Minister appointed Akel Biltaji as Mayor of Amman.
Akel Biltaji has represented his country in a number of national, regional and international forums and conferences, including the World Economic Forum both in Davos and the Dead Sea. He also sits on the boards of a number of national and international organizations and institutions. He is known to be one of Jordan’s strongest public speakers especially on issues related to the country’s image, the holy sites and protection of heritage.
He has been decorated with the highest orders by the heads of State of Japan, Norway, France, Spain, Austria, Germany, Chile and at home. He is a member of Skål International Amman.
Ramesh Cidambi is the Chief Operating Officer of Dubai Duty Free (DDF) and is responsible for all aspects of the company’s operations, reporting to the Executive Vice Chairman and CEO.
His responsibilities include both the retail and leisure businesses operated by DDF.
Prior to his promotion to his current role, Ramesh held a variety of senior positions in the company with responsibility for areas such as information technology, logistics, retail development in both of Dubai’s airports covering over 40,000sq m of retail space, and the DDF Leisure business through the Jumeirah Creekside Hotel and The Irish Village Bar and Restaurant (in two locations).
Ramesh has been with DDF for over thirty years, during which time the company has grown to become one of the world’s largest airport retailers in a single location with sales of over US$2 billion in 2019.
He also maintains his links with the domestic retail market through the chairmanship of the Merchants Advisory Board and as a Board Member of Dubai’s Retail Business Group. He holds an MBA degree from Utah State University and a B.S. degree from Loyola College (Chennai, India).
Ramesh’s main interests outside work are sailing (with his wife Alpana) and the practice of Iyengar yoga.
PRESENTATION
Tarek Yassine Hamila has held several leadership positions since joining Hamila Duty Free in 1998, and now serves the company as Chief Executive Officer.
Hamila Duty Free was founded by Yassine Hamila in 1983, with a downtown duty free shop targeting diplomatic missions in Tunisia.
As leader of the company, Tarek Yassine Hamila has positioned Hamila Duty Free for its next generation of growth and led the company’s focus on development, spreading its operations to sea ports, ship chandling, ferries, airlines and airports. He has grown the business by over 700% over the last decade and recently achieved another milestone in the history of the company following its victory in the tender to operate duty free at five Tunisian airports, in partnership with ATÜ Duty Free (the joint venture between TAV Airports and Unifree Duty Free) and Gebr Heinemann.
Tarek Yassine Hamila earned a Business Administration degree in Marketing and Management from Webster University, Bellevue, Switzerland. He is also owner end CEO of YKH holding, a group of 13 companies present in the sectors of commerce, services, real estate and manufacturing.
Michel Mignot has 40 years of experience in the premium and luxury goods business. Upon graduating from the Paris Chamber of Commerce Business School in 1973, he joined the finance division of Parfums Christian Dior, overseeing the company’s profitability in international markets. In 1981 he moved to the company’s export division, where he became Area Director, Travel Markets.
Shortly after gaining his MBA from INSEAD, in 1990 Michel joined Chanel as Export Director, a post he held until 2005, when he was appointed International Director in charge of both travel retail and local markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and India. He retired from the role in 2012 and now works as a consultant to brands wishing to develop their presence in travel retail and international markets.
Michel was a member of the TFWA Management Committee for 12 years.
Mounir Seifeddine joined Lebanese flag carrier Middle East Airlines in 1998 as advisor to the Chairman. He subsequently became Head of In-Flight and Catering Purchases in 2001, before being named Director of Purchasing in June 2016.
Mounir holds a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Rennes in France, where he began his career as an export manager in an F&B company.
At MEA he has managed the inflight retail business with great success, positioning it as an essential part of the service on board and achieving one of the highest levels of sales per passenger in the global airline business.
One of the world’s oldest airlines, MEA recently celebrated its 70th anniversary.
Arnaud Piorkowski joined Philip Morris International in 2003, after 6 years of experience in trading commodities in Africa, the Middle East and Asia. After 4 years spent in PMI OC in Switzerland in Financial Planning, Marketing and Sales Strategy for Africa, he joined the company’s Middle East headquarters in Dubai, holding several senior positions in Area Management, Sales & Trade Marketing.
He joined the travel retail industry in June 2012, taking over the position of General Manager Middle East and Indian Sub-continent. Africa was added to his responsibilities in early 2014.
Gary Mayger joined GuestLogix in early 2013 and forms part of the EMEA Senior Management Team delivering the company’s strategic objectives for company growth. Based in the UK, Gary has been delivering travel industry solutions for over 20 years, with deep market knowledge across a global customer base and broad market sectors including airlines, online travel, tour operators, car rental, business travel management, duty free and catering providers.
Prior to joining GuestLogix, Gary held senior management positions at various leading solution providers including Travelport and Oracle RightNow, within sales and business development, client services management, channel and strategic partnerships roles.
Peter Irion was born in 1969 and grew up in Mannheim in Germany. He completed a degree in business economics at the University of Mannheim, specialising in marketing and international management.
He began his career in 1995 with Blaupunkt GmbH, a member of the Bosch Group. He subsequently spent time abroad, performing various marketing and sales roles in Madrid and London.
Between 2001 and 2010 he headed the sales and export departments of two family-run companies as a Management Board member (firstly in the fashion sector and later in the packaging industry). Peter then assumed responsibility for Distribution at Gebr Heinemann, when he was appointed Executive Director in 2010.
Simone Horn has over 10 years’ experience in the tobacco industry and worked in several markets, including Norway, Estonia and Germany, before joining the company’s Global Duty Free department in 2010. Her career path has consisted of roles in Consumer Marketing, Trade Marketing, Business Intelligence and Category Management.
Simone is passionate about working in a multi-cultural environment, and understanding different nationalities’ needs and behaviours. She helps drive business development for Imperial Tobacco by translating these shopper insights into strategies for the category and customers in travel retail.
An ESSEC MBA graduate, Francis Gros has over 20 years of international experience in the luxury goods and fragrances industries. This includes overseeing the Japanese market for make-up brand Bourjois, developing the fashion accessories business for Mantero Seta in Italy, where he became the company’s Chief Marketing Officer, and as Managing Director of niche fragrance and scented candles business Diptyque in Paris.
In 2007 Francis joined Luxottica and became responsible for the eyewear company’s dedicated worldwide Travel Retail division. Under Francis’ leadership Luxottica Travel Retail has expanded rapidly, with regional offices established in London, Miami and Singapore, quadrupling the division’s sales inside five years. Francis has also taken an active role in promoting the wider sunglasses category, which ranks as the fastest-growing category in travel retail over the last four years.
In 2013 he was assigned the further responsibility of overlooking the Group’s Global Channels Division, including sales to licensed brands’ boutiques as well as department stores worldwide.
Francis has been a member of the TFWA Management Committee since October 2012.
