Company: Confidential large unlisted airport travel-retail operator
Board base: New Delhi, with airport reviews in Mumbai and other gateways
Sector: Duty-free and airport specialty retail
Appointment: Independent Director, Non-Executive
Intended committees: Audit, Ethics & Risk Committee Chair
Time commitment: 24–30 days annually, including secure-airport and inventory reviews
Application deadline: 4 October 2026
Expected appointment: December 2026
Company context
The company operates duty-free and specialty retail concessions at major airports, selling beauty, liquor, tobacco, fashion, confectionery and travel products under airport, customs and brand agreements. Economics depend on passenger traffic, international mix, minimum guarantees, concession fees, foreign currency, inventory, promotional funding and airport operating constraints.
Market hint: A portfolio across major Indian gateways, international brand partnerships and both arrivals and departures operations may suggest several travel-retail joint ventures. Airport, shareholder and brand names are omitted.
Board mandate
The director will oversee concession capital, customs integrity, inventory truth, vendor conduct and passenger experience. Growth through passenger recovery must not conceal uneconomic guarantees, grey-market risk or weak cash controls.
Strategic priorities
- Model each concession under traffic, passenger mix, spend, currency, flight disruption, guarantee and extension scenarios.
- Separate sales growth from economic profit after minimum guarantee, revenue share, fit-out, brand funding, shrinkage and working capital.
- Govern bonded inventory from import and customs entry through warehouse, store, passenger eligibility, sale, transfer, breakage, expiry and destruction.
- Establish critical controls for cash, cards, foreign currency, refunds, staff purchases, promotional stock, tester products and high-value goods.
- Review vendor rebates, listing fees, marketing support, exclusivity, consignment and gifts for correct accounting and ethical procurement.
- Govern passenger-data, passport/boarding information, loyalty, payment and surveillance access through minimisation and security.
- Set fit-out and refurbishment gates by concession life, landlord approval, disruption, brand contribution and payback.
- Protect age-restricted and regulated-product selling through eligibility, training, labelling, limits and responsible conduct.
- Build resilience for terminal closure, flight disruption, customs system outage, security event, supply interruption and concession dispute.
- Review joint-venture and related-party arrangements for management fees, procurement, services, brand rights and transfer pricing.
Decisions expected at Board level
- Whether to bid a prestige airport concession with aggressive minimum guarantees.
- Whether inventory discrepancy requires store closure, customs notification or investigation.
- Whether brand funding and rebates are earned, recoverable and correctly recognised.
- Whether a refurbishment can recover before concession expiry.
- Whether a related-party procurement arrangement remains competitive and defensible.
Candidate profile
Essential: Former airport, travel-retail, consumer, customs, luxury retail, hospitality or multi-site CEO/COO/CFO, regulator or Board director; concession and inventory economics; audit, ethics and secure operations.
Preferred: bonded warehousing, international brands, airport joint ventures, foreign currency, anti-bribery, retail cyber and customer-data governance.
Eligibility and conflicts
Active IICA Databank inclusion and applicable test/exemption evidence are mandatory. Candidates must disclose airport operators, customs and government roles, brands, distributors, logistics providers, concession bidders, joint-venture shareholders, auditors and competitors.
First-year outcomes
- Concession economics visible after full capital and guarantee exposure.
- Bonded-stock and high-value inventory independently reconciled.
- Transparent vendor funding and related-party governance.
- Tested airport-disruption and customs-incident response.
- Capital releases tied to concession life and realistic payback.