Global Blue announced on Monday the departure of Greg Gelhaus, chief operating officer, APAC and Central Europe, effective March 1.

Gelhaus, who has been significant in driving the Swiss retail tech company’s growth in the region, has left “to pursue new opportunities,” according to a press release.

As a result of the departure, Laurent Delmas, currently Global Blue COO for Southern Europe will now expand his leadership to oversee Eastern European countries and the Middle East, adding Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Serbia, Slovakia and Switzerland to his jurisdiction.

An expert in various management roles at an international level, the executive will be tasked with the integration and development of the Eastern European markets, further strengthening the firm’s presence in the region.

In addition, Gavin Ingram has been appointed COO APAC (excluding Japan), overseeing South Korea, Singapore, and China, as well as leading Global Blue’s expansion into new APAC markets. Ingram will focus on the region’s strategic growth, driving key initiatives and priorities for each country.

With a decade of experience leading the APAC legal team, Ingram has also driven the new markets initiative in APAC for the past several years.

Finally, Virginie Alem has been promoted to the role of COO of Japan, taking on the role in addition to her current responsibilities as chief marketing officer. 

As COO Japan, Alem will oversee the transformation of Global Blue’s operations in the country, working closely with the team to navigate Japan’s upcoming 2026 Tax Free Shopping regulatory changes. These reforms will shift Japan from a VAT-Off model, where tax refunds are processed in-store, to a VAT-On model, requiring post-customs validation—a system already used in Europe, Singapore, and Korea.

Alem has previously led several initiatives at Global Blue, including the Global Blue rebranding and the transformation of the company’s commercial approach.

“With these strategic leadership changes, Global Blue is ensuring a smooth transition and maintaining its commitment to operational excellence,” said the company in a statement.

Founded some 40 years ago, Global Blue connects thousands of retailers, acquirers, and hotels with nearly 80 million consumers across 53 countries, in three industries: Tax Free Shopping, Payments and Post-Purchase solutions. The company generated €28bn sales in store and €422M revenue in FY 2023/24, and today boasts over 2,000 employees.

Creative communications agency Brandnation has been appointed to handle the PR for retailer Outdoor and Cycle Concepts (O&CC) – the group behind British retail brands Cotswold Outdoor, Runners Need and Snow + Rock. 

An integrated brief spans PR, influencer marketing, creative campaigns and corporate communications across the group’s three businesses. The account will be led by Joe Murgatroyd, partner and creative director at Brandnation. 

The appointment comes at a time when O&CC is set to embark on a period of modernisation throughout the business “a focus within the brief which Brandnation will support in navigating”, the agency said. 

O&CC marketing director Lucy Sutton said: “Brandnation was able to demonstrate a dynamic mix of energy, creativity and expertise that will help elevate our brands to new heights in 2025. 

“[The aim is] to reach audiences in new ways through integrated creative storytelling – narrating the stories that will inspire people to enjoy their time outdoors to the full.” 

The account win builds on the agency’s experience in the active outdoor sector that includes Columbia Sportswear, Merrell and Kathmandu.

In November, Brandnation announced new owners with its founder and managing director Mary Killingworth selling her majority stake in the business to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT).