Colm McLoughlin

Early life

Born in Ballinasloe 1943, Co. Galway and is one of five children. Educated at Garbally College in Ballinasloe, McLoughlin was a sportsman who played hurling and tennis and went on to play rugby for his province. He also holds a private pilot license (small aircraft).

Personal life

Colm McLoughlin has three children and lives in Dubai with his wife Breeda. His eldest son also lives in Dubai while his two daughters and two grandchildren live in the UK. He is an active member of the Dubai business and social community and is the former Chairman of the Dubai Irish Society, former President of the Dubai Celts and former Captain of the Dubai Irish Society Golf. He was the Captain of the Emirates Golf Club (1995/1996) and the Dubai Creek and Golf Club (2007).

Career

Colm McLoughlin's intended career in dentistry took a back seat when he went to London in the early 1960s and began working in retail. He joined the popular high-street chain of Woolworths, where he worked his way up to become one of the youngest managers in the company. During a summer holiday back in Ireland in 1969 he responded to an advert for a manager at Shannon Airport Duty Free. He got the job and went on to become General Manager of the duty-free operation. In 1983, at the request of the Government of Dubai, he was one of a team of ten from Aer Rianta (the Irish Airport Authority) contracted by the Dubai Government to set up Dubai Duty Free at Dubai International Airport. Following the successful opening in December 1983, he was asked to remain as General Manager of the fledging operation which in its first year of business achieved sales of US$20 million. He went on to become Managing Director in 1995.

Dubai Duty Free has seen massive growth and development over the years and was named the single largest airport retailer in the world in terms of turnover, based on 2008-2010 and 2013. Turnover in 2015 reached US$1.888 billion and is expected to reach sales close to US$2 billion in 2016. The retail operation covers some 34,000 square metres of retail space at Dubai International Airport, including the recently opened Concourse D. Meanwhile, the Dubai Duty Free operation at Dubai World Central - Al Maktoum International Airport continues to do well and covers 2,500 square metres. In the long term, the airport has capacity for over 160 million passengers and ultimately, the retail operation will cover some 64,000 square metres. Currently employs around 6,000 staff, including 31 of its original 100 staff recruited in 1983.

In July 2011, McLoughlin was named Executive Vice Chairman of Dubai Duty Free which also incorporates a Leisure Division comprising the Aviation Club, The Irish Village, The Century Village, the Dubai Tennis Stadium and more recently the Jumeirah Creekside Hotel which opened in July 2012. Another title was added on his designation as Chief Executive Officer in June 2016.

McLoughlin is also Chairman of the Dubai Duty Free Foundation, a non-profit charity founded in 2004 which is under the auspices of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Dubai Duty Free. The Foundation provides humanitarian aid and services for children and others in need around the world.

Within his 47 years in the duty-free business, McLoughlin has received peer recognition and is the recipient of a Frontier "Lifetime Achievement" award in addition to the Duty Free News International "25th Anniversary Lifetime Achievement" award and Esquire’s Man At His Best "Lifetime Achievement" award.

In 2013, McLoughlin was presented with the International Sir Michael Smurfit Business Achievement Award at the 25th Annual American Celtic Ball hosted by the Irish Chamber of Commerce USA (ICCUSA) in New York. He was also named “CEO of the Year” at the 3rd Asian Leadership Awards, the “Lifetime Achievement” Editor’s Choice Award at the inaugural Conde Nast Traveller ME Awards and ‘Manager of the Year’ received from the Europe Business Assembly.

Significantly 2014, McLoughlin added a number of other awards to his personal accolades, including the CEO Middle East award for Outstanding Contribution to Business and the Irish Presidential Distinguished Service Award, in the Business and Education category presented by the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins.

In 2015, Colm was presented with the “Best Business Leader in Retail Award” at the inaugural Middle East, North Africa & Asia (MENAA) Best Business Leaders Awardheld in December at the Burj Al Arab and the “Retail CEO of the Year’ by International Finance Magazine Award based in the UK.