EUROPE. Julie Lassaigne has been named Secretary General of the European Travel Retail Confederation (ETRC) effective from 1 February. She replaces Keith Spinks, who will become Senior Counsel to the ETRC after many years of service to the industry, as Secretary General and in other roles.
Lassaigne joined ETRC in 2013 and has been responsible for leading the industry association’s activities relating to product information for consumers, alcohol policy, air passenger rights and transport security.
She has also managed relations with ETRC members and EU institutions and organises the ETRC Annual Business Forum.
ETRC President Frank O’Connell said: “Julie’s appointment is testament to the commitment she has shown our industry since joining ETRC in 2013. The Managing Board is confident that Julie will build on our achievements to date and we wish her every success.”
Lassaigne said: “I’m grateful to the Managing Board for their confidence and support. ETRC is a great organisation [that] since its creation in 2004 continues to grow in stature and importance to the industry.
“I look forward to leading ETRC through the next chapter of its growth. I’d also like to thank Keith for his mentorship and collegiality over the years, during which I have benefitted first-hand from his exceptional experience.”
She added: “With significant challenges ahead, it is more critical than ever that airports, airlines, our maritime partners, retailers and suppliers unite and work together.
“It is my ambition to work with our membership to develop ETRC further and be the voice of the duty free and travel retail industry with stakeholders and policy-makers in Europe.
“Our industry provides the much-needed revenue that builds and maintains key transport links in Europe and beyond. This needs further recognition by the EU and European governments.”
Prior to joining ETRC in 2013, Lassaigne worked for the global communications agency Hume Brophy in Brussels, working with clients in the aviation, food and sport sectors.
A French national, she holds a Masters in Political Science and Communication of the Institute of Political Science of Bordeaux and lives in Brussels with her husband and their two children.
“On behalf of the Managing Board, I would like to thank Keith for his many years of exemplary service and dedication to the industry,” O’Connell added.
Spinks is the former Director General of the ETRC’s predecessor, the International Travel Retail Confederation, and a key figure in many industry campaigns dating back to the defence of intra-EU duty free sales in the 1990s.
