SWITZERLAND. With deep sorrow and profound regret we report the passing of René Baumann, a vastly experienced, hugely popular and deeply respected member of the aviation and travel retail communities, at 57.
René, who died in Basel, Switzerland last week, began his travel retail career with Dufry (now Avolta) as Deputy CEO and Head of Business Unit Central Europe from 1999 to 2009.
He then became Weitnauer Group until mid-2010 when he assumed the key post of Chief Commercial Officer at Bangalore International Airport Limited, working for the Zurich Airport management team.
His next move was to Brazil, where he served as Chief Commercial Officer of Belo Horizonte International Airport, another Zurich Airport project, from 2014 to 2018.
René became Corporate Development Manager at Florianópolis (Floripa Airport) in Brazil (also Zurich Airport) and from 2019 to 2021 was Chief Commercial Officer at Santiago International Airport in Chile with Vinci Airports.
From 2021 until recently he worked for tenders and concession specialists PT&M as Associate Director and consultant, while also running his own non-aeronautical revenues consultancy, BAC Baumann Airport Consulting.
PT&M Chef d’entreprise Eric Trichot said: “I knew René since 2001. I worked with him on many occasions, when he was with Dufry, with Zurich International, when he was with Vinci Airports, and when he was independent. He always was brilliant, innovative and very, very enthusiastic.”
The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie, “I had the very good fortune to meet René on many occasions around the world in India, Abu Dhabi (at The Trinity Forum 2013) and Europe. He seemed to wear a perennial smile, a trait that reflected his wonderfully infectious passion for people, life and business. I am very saddened by his passing.”
The Moodie Davitt Report joins with all those who knew René in expressing our deepest condolences to René’s wife Salwa, his children Jasmine and Martin, and his wider family on the loss of this fine man.
Tributes can be posted on The Moodie Davitt Report’s LinkedIn page. These will be passed on to his family. ✈
