Sarah Branquinho

Recently elected as President of TFWA, Sarah Branquinho has long been an active advocate for the duty-free and travel retail industry and the key role all stakeholders play in enhancing transport infrastructure and the passenger experience for all travellers.

As President of the Duty Free World Council (DFWC), Sarah led a successful industry-wide campaign to convince the World Health Organisation that the channel is not a major source of illicit trade in tobacco, which culminated in vindication of the duty-free industry’s longstanding claim that the channel is among “the most trusted, transparent and secure in the world”, and secured the viability of this core category.

Sarah started her duty-free and travel retail career as the first Commercial Director of TFWA, before moving ten years later into advocacy, serving as Secretary General of the European Travel Research Foundation from 1995, where she played a key role in the industry’s battle against the abolition of intra-EU duty-free sales.

She joined BAA and its retail company World Duty Free, serving the company that is today Avolta as Director of External Affairs, and for two years as Dufry’s Global Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, and latterly as External Affairs Advisor, with Avolta supporting her in work for the DFWC.

Alongside her commercial roles, she has served as Chair of the UK Travel Retail Forum (2009-2018), President of the European Travel Retail Confederation (2012-2018), President of the DFWC (2017-present) and as the World Business Partner observer on the ACI Europe Board.

As Chair of Women in Travel Retail+ Sarah is an advocate for ensuring that talented women in travel retail have the best opportunity to develop the leadership skills they need to progress.