Colm McLoughlin (born July 1943) is an Irish businessman, and the executive vice chairman and CEO of

Dubai Duty Free Dubai Duty Free (DDF) is the company responsible for the duty-free operations at Dubai International Airport and Al Maktoum International Airport. Founded in December 1983, DDF recorded first-year sales of US$20 million and has grown into one ...

, an airport retailer with a turnover of US$2.029 billion in 2019 (AED Dh7.406 billion). Owned by the Government of Dubai, and part of the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), Dubai Duty Free manages all aspects of the retail operation at

Dubai International Airport Dubai International Airport ( ar, مطار دبي الدولي) is the primary international airport serving Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the world's busiest airport by international passenger traffic. It is also the nineteenth-busies ...

and

Al Maktoum International Airport Al Maktoum International Airport , also known as Dubai World Central, is an international airport in Jebel Ali, southwest of Dubai, United Arab Emirates that opened on 27 June 2010. It is the main part of Dubai South, a planned reside ...

Early life

Colm McLoughlin was born in July 1943, in

Ballinasloe Ballinasloe ( ; ) is a town in the easternmost part of County Galway in Connacht. Located at an ancient crossing point on the River Suck, evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of Bronze Age sites. Built around a 12th-ce ...

, County Galway, one of five children of

Tadhg Mac Lochlainn Tadhg Mac Lochlainn ( fl. 1907 – May 1999) was an Irish local historian. Mac Loughlin was a native of Killure, near Ballinasloe, and an innovator in the promotion of local studies, been the author of half-a-dozen books on the subject, a ...

and Mel Kelly. He is a brother of

Ray McLoughlin Raymond John McLoughlin (21 August 1939 – 20 November 2021) was an Ireland rugby union international who was capped 40 times at prop, an Irish record at the time. He began at tight head, moving to the open side on his return to the Ireland te ...

, former

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

international rugby player.

Career

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 high-street chain of

Woolworths Woolworth, Woolworth's, or Woolworths may refer to: Businesses * F. W. Woolworth Company, the original US-based chain of "five and dime" (5¢ and 10¢) stores * Woolworths Group (United Kingdom), former operator of the Woolworths chain of shops ...

, 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 advertisement for a manager at

Shannon Airport Shannon Airport ( ga, Aerfort na Sionainne) is an international airport located in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. The airport is the third busiest ai ...

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

. McLoughlin has received many awards. These include the Frontier Lifetime Achievement award which was presented in 2004 by Frontier magazine, making him only the second person after Brendan O'Regan, the founder of the airport duty free industry, to receive this accolade. In 2000, McLoughlin was the first non-UAE national at the time to receive the Most Distinguished Employee Award from the Dubai Government Excellence Awards while back in his home country, he was named as "Galway Millennium Man of the Year". In October 2014, McLoughlin was presented with the Irish Presidential Distinguished Service Award for Business and Education category. In 2017, McLoughlin received an honorary doctorate from

Middlesex University Dubai Middlesex University Dubai (MDX Dubai) () is an satellite campus, offshore campus of Middlesex University, Middlesex University London in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Situated across two locations in Dubai Knowledge Park and Dubai International ...

. McLoughlin won awards such as the such as the "Charity Champion of the Year” at the annual Duty Free News International Global Travel Awards for Travel Retail Excellence held in London. Colm was also named as one of the 50 Most Influential Expats in the UAE, in a list released by Forbes Middle East Magazine and was honoured with the “Lifetime Achievement Award” at The BURJ CEO Awards organised by CEO Clubs Network held in China and the MENAA “Best Business Leaders Award” for the third time held in Dubai in December. In 2019, McLoughlin was awarded with “Outstanding Contribution to the Aviation Industry” at the annual Aviation Industry Awards held in Dublin. Colm was also honoured by Kildare County Council for his outstanding contribution to County Kildare through Dubai Duty Free's sponsorship of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby for the past twelve years and the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open held in the K Club in 2016, the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Middle East Hospitality Awards in September and the Asian Business Leadership Forum (ABLF) Awards and the Middle East Economic Digest (MEED) Awards for Male Leader of the Year in November. Significantly, on 1 June 2019, McLoughlin celebrated 50 years in the duty free industry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McLoughlin, Colm Irish businesspeople People from Ballinasloe 1943 births Irish chief executives Irish expatriates in the United Arab Emirates Living people