John Cugasi has joined the executive leadership team at The Paradies Shops. The Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) veteran is a senior vice president at Paradies, responsible for leading strategic planning, development and marketing for the company.
Cugasi joined Paradies from Caruso Affiliated, a Los Angeles-based retail and real estate development company where he served as vice president of airports for just over one year. Prior to joining Caruso, Cugasi served as the director of concessions at ATL. He says he is looking forward to taking The Paradies Shops to the next level, both in retail and food and beverage.
“To me, Paradies sets the gold standard for the industry,” Cugasi says. “I want to continue to raise the bar in providing the best retail shops, but also we’re looking into food and beverage – to enter that market in a meaningful way.”
Gregg Paradies, president and CEO of The Paradies Shops, says the company looks forward to utilizing Cugasi’s vast experience. “John brings a great track record of developing high performance teams through the creation of strategic business plans that consistently drive revenues and customer satisfaction,” he says.
One of the key aspects of Cugasi’s role will be to expand the company’s fledgling food and beverage business at airports. “We’ll be looking to build a food portfolio,” he says. “We want to be very competitive in that market.”
The Paradies Shops earlier this year opened its first food and beverage location, The Blue Ridge Trading and Tavern, at Asheville Regional Airport (AVL). The company is in the process of opening a restaurant and bar called Ozark Grill at Northwest Arkansas Regional (XNA), as well as Jammin’ Java and Boar’s Head Express.
Cugasi’s work has been recognized consistently within the industry. Most notable achievements and awards include Airports Council International’s “Concessions Industry Person of the Year” and “Best Convenience Program” in 2009. In addition, under the leadership of Cugasi, the concessions team at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was the recipient of Airport Revenue News’ “Best Management Team” in 2009.
