Edinburgh Airport has appointed Stephanie Wear as chief commercial officer from London Gatwick Airport, also part of the VINCI Airports network.
Ms Wear served as vice president of aviation development since November 2021.
The current chief commercial officer (XAero), Gail Taylor, joins Sydney Airport as commercial project director after 13 years at Scotland’s busiest airport.
The role will be harmonised from 1 September, bringing together the Aviation and XAero sides of the commercial portfolio and returning to the pre-Covid structure.
Gordon Dewar, chief executive of Edinburgh Airport said: “Stephanie has a wealth of experience in senior positions both at home and abroad, and her commercial insight will continue to drive us on as we go forward.
“Her aviation background will be critical as we look to expand Edinburgh Airport’s presence in new and existing markets, and she has some exciting ideas about our XAero function and how it can be further developed.”
Speaking about Ms Taylor’s new role at Sydney Airport, he said: “Gail’s decision is bittersweet for us at Edinburgh Airport, as she has been such an integral part of our success and a driving force behind our retail and commercial outlook, but I am excited at the prospect of this new challenge which awaits her and her family.”
On the decision to harmonise the roles, he added: “Our recovery from the pandemic was so important that we decided to separate the CCO role to allow our teams to fully focus on their areas and build a strong case for the airport’s aviation and retail opportunities. That has delivered for us following another record year and being one of the UK’s first airports to return to growth.
“Now is the perfect opportunity to harmonise that role and return to the pre-Covid structure. This allows Stephanie the opportunity to provide a strategic overview of that side of the business, knowing she has strong teams and heads of department across all the commercial and digital disciplines with a track record of success.”
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