Co-CEO of the world's second largest airport retailer

France's Lagardere Travel Retail (LTR), the world's second largest airport retailer after Avolta, is creating a leadership structure for co-CEOs. On July 1st, the current Associate CEO will step up to run the organization alongside existing longtime leader Dag Rasmussen, informing them of the succession process and potential departures for the latter, or move to the retailer's full-time chair.

The move comes from recommendations from Rasmussen, who will be at the helm for almost 14 years, and from Arnaud Lagardère, chairman and CEO of retail Lagardère, from media with sales of around $10 billion (€8.9 billion*).

LTR is larger in the two divisions by revenue at Lagardère Group, providing $6.3 billion in revenue from Lagardère Publishing (FY24 data). However, from an operational performance standpoint, the latter business is getting better, offering almost 60% of the Lagardère group's EBITDA, with the rest coming from LTR.

This year, LTR has undergone significant developments in South America and South Africa, and maintaining control of further expansion will be a priority. In his new role, Chevalier will be responsible for overseeing global operations in 51 countries, and the company's executive committee will report directly to him. He joined LTR in 2006 as Vice President of Strategy and Development and has been consistently promoted upwards ever since.

According to Arnaud Lagardère, Chevalier was the “critical architect” of the structural integration of the three business lines (tax-free, fashion, fashion and dining).

Chevalier is a unique qualification

In a statement, Rasmussen, chairman and CEO of LTR, said: “Frederick's detailed knowledge of our business and his strong leadership will uniquely qualify him to lead the next stage of our journey.

Chevalier commented: “We must be agile, responsive and willing to adapt to change, while still being consistent with our strategy. Our direction is clear. We will continue to create value for our partners and continue to bring travelers with memorable retail and dining experiences.”

This year, LTR will allow operations and frontline staff to see a new focus. In early June, LTR decided to accelerate its digital plans with the international deployment of Teamup, an all-in-one app designed to enhance operational activity and promote communication between frontline teams.

Founded in 2014 by three brothers, Fabrice, Avi and Gil Haiat, the team-up solution was developed in collaboration with Yoobic, originally deployed in Switzerland and is now featured in LTR teams in the UK, Belgium, Italy and North America, bringing together over 2,800 employees.

“We are pleased to announce that we are committed to providing a range of services to our customers,” said Charlotte Delmas, chief operating performance officer and regional COO for LTR.

Enhanced operation

The co-CEO's decision shows an extended handover, and Rasmussen could resign in the coming months. LTR did not comment on this when asked. Or they said whether a new assistant CEO would be appointed. It is also a resource issue necessary to drive business development and beef operation, which can also increase profitability.

Over the past decade, LTR's revenue has almost tripled, part of which has been through acquisitions. Meanwhile, EBIT as a percentage of revenue has increased from 2.9% in 2015 to 5.2% in 2024. While moving in the right direction, this is about 6.7% below Avolta's EBIT margin last year.

Last year, LTR strengthened its regional footprint. In Europe alone, GEBR.heinemann was selected as a Joint Year Partner to acquire or maintain important contracts at Frankfurt, Hamburg, Belfast and Nice Airports and to provide tax-free operations at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, with GEBR.heinemann departing in April. The momentum reflects the company's development strategy and strength in its effective operational execution, and its succession process appears to guarantee this.

*All US: € conversions are average prices for 2024.