Duty Free Global (DFG) has named Justin Weston (right) as Senior Vice President for Middle East and Asia Pacific and Chief Marketing Officer, effective 1 September.
With an extensive background in the F&B, luxury and retail sectors, Weston has over 25 years of experience working across different geographies including Europe, the US, the Middle East and Asia Pacific, a region where he has established working relationships and contacts.
He moved to Dubai in 2022, a return to a region he knows well from a childhood spent accompanying his British Diplomat father, the company noted.
Weston started his career with the British conglomerate Jardine Matheson in Hong Kong. In 1995, he began working for Moët Hennessy Diageo in Hong Kong as Sales and Marketing Manager, and became the company’s Marketing Director in Japan.
In 2000, he moved to France as he joined the LVMH Group as a Regional Marketing Director for Moët & Chandon Americas.
Weston left the company in 2005 and moved to the US to take on his new position at Pernod Ricard as the Senior Vice President of Marketing for its Prestige portfolio in the Americas, following his passion for wine.
He returned to France in 2007 as Rémy-Cointreau Group appointed him initially as the CMO of the Liqueurs & Spirits brands and then as CEO.
After seven years with the company, Weston left to join William Grant & Sons, based in Singapore, to set up its global duty free operations.
He moved to Campari in 2017, where he a had four-year stint as Managing Director for its operations in Asia.
In 2021, Weston joined Actavia, a consulting firm specialising in RTM and brand building, initially in Singapore, before moving in August 2022 to Dubai to set up their office there.
Weston said: “I am delighted at this opportunity to work with Barry and his team at Duty Free Global, both as their ‘man-on-the-ground’ in the re-accelerating of Middle East and Asia duty free markets and to support more broadly the many excellent global brands that DFG represents.
“I have always believed that duty free can play a key role in wider brand-building efforts as well as afford numerous opportunities for interaction with consumers. Barry and DFG have an enviable reputation in duty free and I look forward to building on that.”
Duty Free Global Founder and Commercial Director Barry Geoghegan added: “On behalf of all the team at Duty Free Global we extend our warmest welcome to Justin. We believe with Justin’s vast 25-year experience in building luxury global liquor brands, he will add a huge amount of knowledge to our channel dedicated team at DFG. In his dual role with DFG we are delighted to have Justin head up the strategically crucial Middle East and Asia Pacific region.
“Justin’s many years living in the region in Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Australia and Dubai give him a first-hand understanding of the nuances and culture of the region which will be a huge asset to the DFG team.
“Allied to his regional role, Justin’s many years as a luxury marketeer in the wines and spirits business will prove invaluable to our brand partners as we jointly develop the best-in-class marketing approach to succeed in the channel.”
Weston will be attending the forthcoming TFWA Cannes in 1-5 October and is looking forward to meeting brand partners, press and operators on the Duty Free Global stand J35 in the Green Village, DFG said. ✈
