The Moodie Davitt Report may bear the names of its Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie and long-time President (and since 2015 Co-Owner) Dermot Davitt, but there is a lot more to the company than its two leaders.
Our diverse and inclusive, multi-talented, multi-cultural 24-member team (including regular freelancers and consultants) is based across numerous locations, including Hong Kong, Hainan, Ireland, Rhodes (Greece), Wales, England and the Philippines.
They speak eight languages between them and collectively represent the leading travel retail B2B publisher and events company with distinction across administration & finance, editorial, events, film, research, sales and technology.
We are pleased to introduce the team in this regular column. Please meet our Development and Systems Operations Director Matt Willey.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I was born in Rotherham in South Yorkshire and lived in several towns with large coal mining pits at their centre. My father was a miner, working at one of Europe’s largest collieries, as was his father and his father before him. My mother was a nurse in one of the local hospitals.
Growing up as part of a mining family in the early 1980s, social tension was an ever-present reminder of the broader political state of the country at that time. As a young child, the miners’ strike and the way it divided communities left an indelible mark on me.
This was a struggle that ripped families apart, ostracised many and pitted children against each other in the playground. Financially it was crippling for almost all families, and it was a period which was incredibly formative for me.
Just before my teens we moved to rural Dorset, near Shaftesbury (famous in the UK for the Hovis advert with young baker’s boy pushing a bike up a cobbled hill). Dorset was full of rolling fields and outdoor activity. It’s a time (pre-internet) I look back on very fondly; a time when I made life-long friends.
After my A-Levels I worked in Courchevel, France at a ski resort, before returning to the UK to undertake my English degree in London, where I continued to live for the next 25 years.
In 2020 amid the COVID pandemic I relocated to North Yorkshire with my wife Victoria (once also a member of The Moodie Davitt Report family) and our then one-year-old daughter, Evangeline. Over the intervening years we have gained another member of the family, Winston, our tabby cat, as well as a deeply ingrained appreciation for good-quality merino base-layers and even better waterproof clothing.
When did you join The Moodie Davitt Report?
I joined The Moodie Davitt Report in March 2007, originally as a Content Editor. I think it was clear that my interests and skillset could be put to better use in other areas of the business and I’m pretty sure Martin and Dermot haven’t lost a wink of sleep over my departure from the literary arts.
In what some might highlight as an astute move by Martin, he placed me in charge of Innovation and Development of the technology, platforms and systems at the company and from there, as they say, the rest is history.
What is your role?
I am the Development and Systems Operations Director, charged with ensuring the ongoing technological and innovation advancement of the business. I need to make sure we stay ahead of the curve, and continue to deliver meaningful change to both the organisation and our loyal international readership.
Having been with the business for such a long time, I have seen it grow in so many ways, its sphere of influence constantly evolving. It’s such a fascinating business to be a part of.
One or more highlight(s) of your time with The Moodie Davitt Report?
While there have been many periods of real pride and satisfaction with what we have achieved at The Moodie Davitt Report, there is one that without doubt stands apart from the rest. That is our response to the COVID pandemic.
At a time when the entire industry was in the darkest of turmoil, The Virtual Travel Retail Expo gave all stakeholders a focus and an opportunity to keep the lines of communication open. Seeing the travel retail community rally to support the initiative, and the sheer numbers of delegates attending, gave me an immense sense of pride and satisfaction. [The event even won a Frontier Award, along with our partners in the event FILTR/Qingwa, now WePurple -Ed].
Alongside this, our commitment to our industry partners during that period, ensuring their ongoing visibility at a time of immense economic uncertainty, was another important part of our response to a critical period in our industry’s history.
Finally, our editorial during the COVID pandemic, both qualitatively and quantitively, was beyond comparison. It played a vital role in charting the emerging crisis and giving insight into the shared experience for all industry stakeholders.
What is your approach to work, your business philosophy?
Being open to new ideas and new ways of working is one of the most important elements to any growing and evolving business. I am a firm believer that repeating methods and modes of working simply because that is how they have always been done leads to stagnation.
Luckily Martin very much shares this philosophy so over the course of the past 17 or so years has been a great advocate and supporter of innovation and change across our business.
What is it that makes you tick?
I’m a problem solver. That’s a trait that can be both a blessing and a curse. It can lead to waking in the middle of the night agonising over details, but it is something that delivers immense satisfaction when you see that the kernel of an idea has come to fruition.
I welcome challenges. We have tried and tested many innovations over the years at The Moodie Davitt Report to varying degrees of success. That spirit of progress and innovation has me – and hopefully the business – continually evolving positively.
How important is leisure time and out of work interests?
Striking a good balance can prove difficult, especially at times of immense focus and pressure. Family plays a vital role in grounding you outside of the work environment. I’m lucky in that my wife Victoria understands the industry and our business, having worked alongside me for a number of years. She is no stranger to the pressures of events season or an approaching deadline.
Having our daughter Evangeline is the source of so much joy for both of us. With her almost at school age we are striving to make the most of our time with her before she starts full-time education.
Outside of family, music has been a consistent source of pleasure throughout my life, both listening and playing. I’m currently wrestling with the piano in our dining room which steadfastly refuses to play all the right notes in the right necessary order.
A must-have in duty free?
For me the evolution of airport food & beverage has been perhaps the most fascinating part of our industry. It is always the F&B outlets that I visit at any airport and the breadth and quality of the offer is something that never ceases to amaze. I am very much that traveller who will get to the airport early to ensure I get the chance to sit and have a good meal. It is such an important part of the experience.
Aside from this, there is always space in my wardrobe for a new blue shirt, so I’ll definitely have a browse if there is a good men’s clothing store.
And a desert island choice of music and book?
Once I hit my forties two things happened; my eyesight started to go south and I developed a much deeper appreciation for Jazz, especially on vinyl. The one record we have played consistently over the last year or so is the Oscar Peterson Plays the Duke Ellington Songbook album. Many a dinner at the end of the day has been spent with this as the background, so it holds a special place in our family’s heart.
I’m not sure I can ever profess to being a voracious reader, especially in life after my English degree. So choosing a book would have proven a tougher task had it not been for the fact that Evangeline and I have been reading the Roald Dahl books together every evening before bedtime.
It has been a long time since I read any of his books, but watching her face glow with anticipation and enjoyment when we first read James and The Giant Peach was one of the great moments. For that reason it would have to be my choice, so I can remember that smile every day. ✈
Previously on Meet The Moodie Davitt team
Introducing Reporter Ameesha Raizada
Introducing China Chief Representative Zhang Yimei
Introducing Vice President Sales Sarah Genest
