Leading Executives in Newsagents and Newsstands
Steve Johnson
President & CEO, North America (Avolta) — oversees Hudson and HMSHost in North America. , Avolta (Hudson / HMSHost)
President & CEO, North America for Avolta, Steve has become one of the most influential leaders in North American travel news/convenience by steering Hudson’s expansion and securing marquee airport retail wins at SJC, ATL, JFK and more.
Sara Hinckley
VP, Category Management – Books & Media, North America (Avolta/Hudson). , Avolta (Hudson Booksellers)
A longtime tastemaker for airport books and magazines, she leads category strategy for books and media across Hudson’s estate, shaping what travelers see at the newsstand and in Hudson Booksellers.
Xavier Rossinyol
Chief Executive Officer, Avolta. , Avolta (parent of Hudson)
As global CEO of Avolta, Xavier oversees the world’s largest travel retailer, which integrates Hudson’s news/convenience footprint with duty free and F&B to power growth in travel newsstands worldwide.
Gregg Paradies
President & CEO, Paradies Lagardère. , Paradies Lagardère (Lagardère Travel Retail North America)
Third‑generation leader who built Paradies into a perennial ‘Best Overall Retailer’ in North American airports and continues to expand award‑winning news/convenience and dining programs.
Frédéric Chevalier
Chief Executive Officer (alongside the Chairman & CEO), Lagardère Travel Retail. , Lagardère Travel Retail (Relay, Travel Essentials)
Newly appointed CEO (effective July 1, 2025) co‑leading the global travel retail giant that operates Relay newsstands and Travel Essentials shops in 50+ countries.
Dag Rasmussen
Chairman & CEO, Lagardère Travel Retail. , Lagardère Travel Retail
Long‑standing leader credited with transforming Lagardère Travel Retail into a diversified, high‑growth operator across Travel Essentials (including Relay), Duty Free & Fashion, and Dining.
Costa Kouros
Chief Executive Officer, Lagardère AWPL. , Lagardère AWPL (Pacific)
Heads Lagardère’s Pacific joint venture (including Relay/Travel Essentials) after being named sole CEO, steering the region’s newsstand and travel retail portfolio in Australia & New Zealand.
Carl Cowling
Group Chief Executive Officer, WHSmith. , WHSmith (global travel news/books retailer)
Group CEO since 2019, leading WHSmith’s pivot to travel retail (news/books/convenience) worldwide; in 2025 the company completed the sale of its UK high‑street arm to focus on travel.
Toby Keir
Chief Executive Officer, Marshall Retail Group & InMotion (WHSmith North America). , WHSmith North America (Marshall Retail Group & InMotion)
Former MD of WHSmith Travel in the UK, now running WHSmith’s U.S. subsidiaries that operate airport specialty and travel news/convenience concepts across 40+ airports.
Padraig Drennan
President & CEO, Stellar Partners. , Stellar Partners (U.S. airport news/convenience & specialty)
Travel retail veteran leading Stellar’s growth (including acquisitions such as PGC) to 100+ stores in nearly 20 U.S. airports, with strong news/gift positions.
Raymond Kayal, Jr.
President & CEO, NewsLink. , NewsLink (airport news/convenience & specialty)
Runs one of the most decorated independent airport news & gift chains in the U.S., winner of Airport Experience News’ Best Overall Retailer (Small Operator) in 2023 and 2024.
Michael Mueller
CEO, Valora Group. , Valora Group (k kiosk, Press & Books)
Leads one of Europe’s largest convenience/newsstand networks (k kiosk/Press & Books), now FEMSA’s European retail unit, serving rail, metro and high‑street locations.
Greg Michael
Chief Executive Officer, Menzies Distribution. , Menzies Distribution (UK/Ireland newstrade logistics)
Oversees the overnight supply chain that gets newspapers and magazines to thousands of UK & Irish retailers—critical infrastructure for the newsagent ecosystem.
Jonathan (Jon) Bunting
Chief Executive Officer, Smiths News plc. , Smiths News plc (UK’s largest news wholesaler)
Guides the UK’s biggest newspaper & magazine wholesaler, with 22,500+ retail customers and multi‑year publisher renewals underpinning the newsstand supply chain.
Ruairí Doyle
Chief Executive Officer, PressReader. , PressReader (global digital newsstand)
Tech/product leader who became CEO in 2022, expanding PressReader’s B2B distribution of 7,000+ newspaper and magazine brands to airlines, hotels, and libraries worldwide.
Philip Lindqvist
Chief Executive Officer, Readly. , Readly (digital magazines/newspapers)
Appointed CEO in 2023, he has steered Readly to improved profitability and led the company through ownership changes as Bonnier increased its stake in 2025.
Girish Ramdas
Co‑Founder & CEO, Magzter. , Magzter (digital newsstand; a VerSe Innovation company)
Co‑founded Magzter and continues as CEO after the 2024 acquisition by VerSe Innovation (Dailyhunt), scaling a subscription newsstand with thousands of titles globally.
Arnaud Ayrolles
President (Chairman/CEO), Groupe NAP. , Groupe NAP (Maison de la Presse, Mag Presse — France)
President of France’s leading proximity newsagent network (Maison de la Presse/Mag Presse), credited with modernizing the model and sustaining single‑copy print sales growth in 2024.
James Daunt
Chief Executive Officer, Barnes & Noble. , Barnes & Noble (U.S. bookseller with significant newsstand mix)
Bookselling icon who has revitalized B&N’s 600+ store fleet and accelerated new store openings; B&N remains a major outlet for magazines and newspapers across the U.S.
Lagardère Travel Retail Executive Bench (reference) — includes Gregg Paradies
Group Management Reference (for partner/brand context). },{, Lagardère Travel Retail (Global)
Runs Paradies Lagardère’s North American operations within the Group’s Executive leadership, shaping customer experience and growth across news/convenience and dining in airports.
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