Paradies Lagardère names John Cugasi as Vice President of Marketing

In a recent reorganization of its overall Business Development division, Paradies Lagardère has appointed John Cugasi as its new Vice President of Marketing. In this role, Cugasi will report to Gerry Savaria, Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer, and will oversee the company’s overall brand building with our airport partners, including all communication and marketing aspects as well as the development of compelling bid proposals. He will also lead the evolution of the company’s dining brand portfolio, including further enhancing the company’s proprietary concepts such as the Vino Volo brand, and liaise with our operations teams and third party brand partners such as P.F. Chang’s, Chick-fil-A and Starbucks, to ensure we are delivering first-class customer experiences. 

This is Cugasi’s third assignment with the company, having previously held the position of Senior Vice President, Planning and Development from 2011 to 2016, and providing consulting services since 2016. Prior to that, he held various leadership positions in the industry including Director of Concessions at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport where he managed the concessions program for the world’s largest airport.

Cugasi’s appointment is one of many changes that occurred within the Business Development Division, in the context of a larger company reorganization that better reflects the significant reduction of air traffic and sales due to COVID-19 but also creates more agility and flexibility to capitalize on new business opportunities. One of the key changes will see Vino Volo maintaining separate operations and culinary teams to drive the customer experience but now having all Vino Volo support functions – Finance, Accounting, HR, Business Development, Marketing, Design and Construction - officially absorbed into the various departments of Paradies Lagardère. Accordingly, Business Developers that handle relationships with a specific airport partner will now be responsible for all Paradies Lagardère brands and leases, providing a single point of contact for our airport partners. 

Gregg Paradies, President and CEO, said: “While this is the most challenging year in the history of our industry, the Paradies Lagardère leadership team is committed to preserving the financial condition of our company and building upon our company’s 60 years of success. We are confident that this reorganization will achieve this and are thrilled to have a seasoned and well-respected veteran like John Cugasi rejoining our team in this new capacity.”