Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, Colm McLoughlin was presented with the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 Arabian Business Achievement Awards held last night, 25th January at Atlantis The Royal, Dubai.

Organised by ITP Media Group, the Arabian Business’ flagship event, recognises individuals and organisations across a diverse range of categories including retail, e-commerce, healthcare, technology, hospitality, and more, that have demonstrated exceptional performance over the past year.

The headline award of the evening, The Lifetime Achievement award, acknowledged McLoughlin for his pivotal role in shaping Dubai Duty Free and the duty-free industry in the region across four decades of unprecedented growth and achievements.

Commenting on the award McLoughlin said, “I am thrilled and delighted that I have been selected to receive this special award and thank ITP Media and the panel of judges for their votes. It is hard to believe that I have been with Dubai Duty Free for 40 years and have witnessed the enormous growth and development of the operation in tandem with that of the UAE. My thanks as always to my family, to our terrific team of staff and of course to our Chairman HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, for his ongoing support.”

McLoughlin now follows the footsteps of other UAE luminaries who have received this award, including H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr al Qassimi, Ruler of the Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah, H.E. Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, Mohamed Alabbar, Chairperson of Emaar and Mohammed Alshaya, CEO of Al Shaya Group.

McLoughlin was joined at the black-tie event by his wife Breeda and son Niall, along with his wife Sherly. Also, in attendance to celebrate with him were Dubai Duty Free’s Salah Tahlak, Joint COO; Sinead El Sibai, Senior Vice President – Marketing, Dr. Bernard Creed, Senior Vice President – Finance and Michael Schmidt, Senior Vice President – Retail.

Special awards recognising the Sustainability Company of the Year, Start-Up of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year, Developer of the Year and Businessperson of the Year were also presented during the night.

The awards were adjudged by a distinguished panel of judges consisting of business, professional, and academic experts in the Middle East and was externally audited ensuring fairness and transparency of the judging process.