WH Smith has appointed Ziad El-Assad senior v-p of business development, USA, the Bookseller reported. According to the company, El-Assad's principal duties will be to "lead WH Smith’s travel retail expansion within the United States, formulate brand partnerships and establish operating joint ventures." He was previously v-p of business development for airport concessions business NewsLink Group after working as a financial adviser at Morgan Stanley.
The retailer currently operates in 30 countries outside the U.K., and has been developing a plan to enter the U.S. news and gifts travel market since the November 2018 purchase of airport travel retailer InMotion, which "has a concession portfolio of 114 stores across 43 airports in the U.S., with a presence in 22 of the top 25 busiest U.S. airports," the Bookseller wrote.
Phil McNally, managing director of WH Smith International, said, "I am delighted that Ziad, with his many years of experience in the industry, has decided to join WH Smith at this very exciting time. The appointment of Ziad is a crucial step towards our goal of establishing a meaningful presence for the WH Smith brand in the U.S."