The airport retailer also won the award for sustainability and CSR
Ramesh Cidambi, COO of Dubai Duty Free accepted the award in Bahrain on behalf of McLoughlin and was joined by other Dubai Duty Free officials including Salah Tahlak, Joint COO, Sinead El Sibai, SVP – Marketing, Bernard Creed, SVP – Finance, Mona Al Ali, SVP – Human Resources, Michael Schmidt, SVP – Retail, Sharon Beecham, SVP – Purchasing and Zayed Al Shebli, SVP – Loss Prevention and Corporate Security in accepting the other award. – Photograph supplied
Executive Vice President and CEO of Dubai Duty Free, Colm McLoughlin, was awarded the prestigious ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at the inaugural Middle East and Africa Duty Free Association (MEADFA) Awards in Bahrain.
The awards were held to coincide with the 20th MEADFA conference, which was held in Bahrain for the first time and brought together 440 delegates. The awards ceremony was held during the MEADFA gala dinner and, in addition to the ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award, the airport retailer also won the Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility Award, joint winner with Bitmore.
Organized by the MEADFA board, the new awards program, now part of the annual conference, recognizes innovative, dynamic and world-class travel professionals in the Middle East and Africa region.
The special ‘Lifetime Achievement’ award recognized McLoughlin for his outstanding contribution to the travel retail industry and his strong leadership of Dubai Duty Free since 1983. While the Sustainability and CSR Award was awarded to the airport retailer for its commitment to sustainability and the promotion of the environment. projects both inside and outside the organization.
McLoughlin said: “I am delighted and very excited to receive this special award at the inaugural MEADFA Awards, it is a great honor and I am very grateful to the MEADFA board for nominating me and the judging panel. It is also fantastic to be recognized by the Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility I attribute this recognition to our staff team for their continuous efforts to make our business successful and of course to our Chairman, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum.”
A special independent jury with a strong background in the travel retail industry judged the awards. Prior to jury evaluation and scoring, the MEADFA committee screened each award submission to ensure finality.