A former president of MEADFA, John Sime is Vice President Retail Services at Emirates Airline, one of the world’s fastest growing airlines.

John has been employed by Emirates since 1997 and is tasked with the development of the company’s onboard retail programme and the operation of a global rewards platform for Skywards members.

Before joining Emirates John held positions with several major duty free operators, including Aer Rianta International and Harding Bros. John has worked in most duty free retail environments, including ferries, cruiselines, airports and airlines.

Sean Staunton is responsible for the retail outlets of Dubai Duty Free, having joined the company in 2000 in the position of Retail Sales Manager. In 2004 he was promoted to the position of Operations Manager and was named Vice President for Operations in July 2011.

Prior to joining Dubai Duty Free, Sean worked with Aer Rianta International for 10 years working in such locations as Dublin, Cork, Shannon, Moscow, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria and Qatar. He was responsible for the set-up of Damascus Duty Free and Qatar Duty Free during that time and has been working in the Middle East since 1994.

In September 2016, Sean was named Dubai Duty Free Senior Vice President for Retail Sales.

Sean is presently the President of the Middle East & Africa Duty Free Association (MEADFA), former Chairman of the Dubai Irish Society and President of Dubai Celts Gaelic Athletic Association.