Ashish Gandham is the Managing Director of Beam Suntory’s Global Travel Retail division. Gandham has spent over ten years working in the spirits industry, having worked with Diageo before joining Beam Suntory in 2019. He also spent over four years working with Johnson & Johnson. During his career, Gandham has taken on roles in India, London and Singapore, managing sales, distribution, commercial strategy development and marketing across a range of diverse international markets. Most recently having held the position of Emerging Markets and Commercial Excellence Director, Gandham now leads the GTR division for Beam Suntory. His seasoned expertise in Sales, Commercial and Marketing will lead the next chapter for GTR, using consumer-centric commercial thinking to inspire innovation within the channel. Gandham has a passion for the Japanese concept of ‘monogatari’ – evocative storytelling that creates personal connections between consumers and the brands they choose to buy for themselves and others. Gandham lives in Singapore with his wife and daughter. He holds a degree in Computer Engineering from the Pune Institute of Computer Technology, and a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from the India Institute of Management in Calcutta. A keen traveler himself, Gandham spends much of his time exploring new countries and cultures, with a particular interest for other cuisines and spirits.

Emanuele Lasagna spent the first years of his career at Procter & Gamble, holding several positions in salon professional and mass market divisions. For the past 7 years, he entered the eyewear industry working first at Safilo and joining Kering Eyewear in 2018 in the Travel Retail Team. Since 2022, Emanuele is Head of Global Travel Retail, managing the channel’s business worldwide and providing a material contribution to the acknowledgement of Kering Eyewear as a gamechanger also in the travel retail area. When he is not busy with travels, Emanuele can be found by the sea catching some waves with his three kids: Maddalena, Matilde and Edoardo.

With over 20 years’ experience in consumer marketing and sales across international drinks, food, fashion and confectionery brands, Elisa is passionate about consumer insights and brand engagement as essential to optimise shopper experience and build brand loyalty. Her love of travel inspired her to move from a domestic markets focus into global travel retail in 2010, initially joining Ferrero as Key Account Manager in Germany and Eastern Europe before a move into HARIBO GTR marketing in 2017 with a promotion Global Head of Marketing, GTR in 2019. Since then she has led the 102 year global icon of sugar confectionery through the pandemic and into the new era of omnichannel travel retail while introducing a broader, more inclusive pipeline of innovation to the portfolio which now caters for halal and vegetarian consumers. Leading a tightly knit team based in Luxembourg, her remit covers all aspects of travel retail from airports and airlines to ferries and border stores. Elisa runs Haribo marketing from China, having recently moved to Shanghai with her family where she is enjoying exploring the culinary scene in Shanghai.

Sammy Patel is Vice President of Commercial for Vantage Airport Group and Chief Executive Officer of Midway Partnership. He is also a member of the company's executive team. Sammy is responsible for Vantage’s commercial strategy and operations globally. His responsibilities include developing the company’s growth and revenue initiatives, forming new business partnerships, providing global functional support, and the strategic direction of Midway Partnership. Most recently, Sammy led Vantage’s commercial planning efforts to develop a new $4.2 billion Terminal 6 at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, USA.