Lagardère Travel Retail announces strategic regional leadership changes in Africa, appointing Sountou Bousso to lead West, Central & East Africa

Lagardère Travel Retail has announced a strategic evolution of its organization in Africa to strengthen its regional footprint and support ongoing development across fast-growing markets. Effective immediately, Sountou Bousso, currently CEO West and Central Africa, will extend his responsibilities to include the East Africa region, overseeing operations in Tanzania and Rwanda.

This evolution reflects Lagardère Travel Retail’s ambition to sustain growth and continue delivering the highest standards of operational excellence across the continent. By aligning its regional structure, the company aims to foster greater collaboration between teams in West, Central and East Africa and to further leverage shared expertise to support continued growth.

Vincent Romet, COO MEA, East and South East Asia at Lagardère Travel Retail, comments, “This strategic structuring will allow us to continue delivering the highest standards of operational excellence while preparing for future growth across Africa. Extending Sountou’s leadership to East Africa strengthens our regional organization and puts all our efforts at the service of our ambitions in Africa — a region where we continue to grow, adapt, and deliver for our partners.”

Sountou Bousso, CEO West, Central & East Africa at Lagardère Travel Retail, adds, “I’m honored to take on this extended role and continue supporting our talented teams across Africa. East Africa presents both challenges and opportunities, and I look forward to building on our positive momentum — continuing to deliver strong results, adapt to local needs, and ensure that our growth contributes to local communities, while maintaining high standards of service and operational excellence.”

With over 15 years of experience in travel retail and foodservice, Sountou Bousso joined Lagardère Travel Retail in 2020 to lead operations in West Africa. Since then, his responsibilities have progressively expanded to include Central Africa — with activities in Gabon, Cameroon, Mauritania, Benin and Gambia — and now the East Africa region. Before joining Lagardère Travel Retail, he spent seven years with the Newrest Group, holding several senior management positions in Angola, Cameroon, New Caledonia and Senegal, where he successfully managed multi-country operations and business development. Earlier in his career, he held management and operational roles at Elior Group in France. A graduate of ESMISAB Brest engineering school and HEC Paris Business School, Sountou brings strong operational expertise, a collaborative leadership style and a deep understanding of African markets.