INDIA. Aer Rianta International (ARI) has named senior executive Philip Eckles as CEO of its Delhi Duty Free joint venture*. He takes the role vacated earlier this year by Luke Gorringe, who transferred to ARI’s joint venture Jakarta Duty Free as General Manager.
A well-known and much-respected figure in the business, Eckles has worked with ARI for over 25 years, having joined in 1993 to manage the company’s retail operations in Pakistan. Senior posts in Bahrain, Ukraine, Canada and the UK followed.
He joined the ARI executive team in 2011 as CEO of ARI-Middle East, leading the group’s operations in the Middle East region. In 2015 Eckles moved to the role of Global Implementation Director responsible for the operational development and launch of new concessions and refurbishments. These included new operations in New Zealand, Indonesia, Canada and Saudi Arabia.
ARI CEO Ray Hernan said: “I am delighted that Philip will be joining the Delhi Duty Free team. I am sure his depth and breadth of commercial experience and knowledge of the travel retail industry will drive the continued growth trajectory of this, one of Asia’s most prestigious duty free locations.”
*Delhi Duty Free is a joint venture between Delhi International Airport Private Limited (49.9% shareholding); ARI-owned Yalorvin Limited (33.07% shareholding) and GMR Airports Limited (17.03% shareholding).
