Qatar Duty Free appoints three senior leaders to its executive team
Qatar Duty Free welcomes new leaders to its executive team: (From left to right) Ewan Lawson, Caroline Hannah Sartory, Thabet Musleh, Chief Retail and Hospitality Officer at Qatar Airways and Hanno Hellwig
Qatar Duty Free (QDF) has appointed three new senior leaders to its executive team, marking a key moment in its 25th anniversary.
According to QDF, these appointments reflect QDF’s ongoing commitment to innovation, operational excellence, and exceptional customer experience, strengthening its leadership team to drive continued growth and global success.
Caroline Hannah Sartory has been appointed Vice President Customer Experience. With over 17 years of leadership experience at leading brands such as InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Sartory will spearhead QDF’s customer experience strategy, elevating the end-to-end journey for passengers and advancing QDF’s ambition to continue strengthening its leadership in experiential airport retail.
Hanno C. Hellwig has been appointed as Head of Procurement – Food & Confectionery. Hellwig brings over 19 years of experience in the Middle East, most recently serving as Senior Regional Business Manager at Nestlé International Travel Retail. In his new role, he will lead procurement strategy and operations for QDF’s dynamic food and confectionery category, further strengthening its commercial offering across both local and international brands.
Ewan Lawson joins as Manager Corporate Communications, bringing extensive global experience from his previous role at Louis Vuitton in Paris, where he managed International Corporate PR. At QDF, Lawson will oversee global communications strategy, media relations, and brand storytelling, ensuring QDF’s dynamic voice is amplified across all platforms, media and markets.
Thabet Musleh, Chief Retail and Hospitality Officer at Qatar Airways, commented, “As we mark 25 years of Qatar Duty Free, we remain focused on the future. Caroline, Hanno, and Ewan each bring exceptional expertise and fresh perspectives that will be instrumental in driving our next chapter of growth. At QDF, our people are at the heart of our success, and this continued strengthening of our leadership team is an important investment in remaining at the forefront of innovation, excellence, and customer experience. I am thrilled to welcome them to the QDF family.”
Qatar Duty Free has a diverse workforce of more than 4,000 people, representing over 78 nationalities, and has tripled its headcount in the past three years. These appointments are said to underscore the organization’s ongoing investment in world-class talent and its focus on building a leadership team capable of meeting the demands of a rapidly evolving global marketplace.
