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 much 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 Rhodes-based Associate Editor Colleen Morgan.
There’s a lady who’s sure all that glitters is gold
And she’s buying a stairway to Heaven
When she gets there she knows, if the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for
-Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin
Tell us a little about yourself.
I was born and raised in Christchurch, New Zealand, the youngest of four children in the happiest of families. That said, I was just eight when I told my father, John (Jack) Morgan, that I wouldn’t be staying there long. He’d taken me to see a film set in Heidelberg and I can still see myself walking out of the suburban cinema with him, hand in hand, telling him that I would travel.
I can remember his face as well, a mixture of love and surprise. He told me many years later that he’d hoped I was joking but he and my mother May always supported my dreams.
That passion for travel developed quickly along with a passion for reading and writing. I devoured books and used to spend hours poring over tissue-paper thin English newspapers which my step-grandfather received regularly from England.
I have very fond memories of my early school years and later at secondary school. I enjoyed learning just as much as I enjoyed sports: swimming, lifesaving and hockey at school and tennis, ice skating, surfing and occasionally golf (with my Dad) on the weekends, depending on the season.
Martin Moodie and I lived in the same beachside suburb of Sumner and were in the same classes at Linwood High School. Close friends, we battled against each other in school debates and vied for the English prize at the end of each year.
I had toyed with the idea of studying law, but my English teacher and mentor Frank Allen laughed at the idea. After I’d taken a few days off from school to spend time with a law firm, he told me I would probably stutter or would have to read my notes in a courtroom, so to stick to writing instead. And he was probably right. I got a bursary to study at university but was then offered a cadetship on the local evening newspaper, the Christchurch Star.
It was my first step into journalism, and although uncertain at first, I was in my element. I got some good breaks and rose quickly through the ranks as a reporter, columnist and sports writer.
Overseas travel, however, beckoned and I left Christchurch early in 1977 with the idea of travelling for a few years. So many years on, and of course I have been back, but only to visit my family and friends.
The rest is another story. Travelling, hitch-hiking my way around Europe – too many adventures and experiences to mention here – before settling in London to return to journalism as a hotel industry specialist and later Features Editor on Travel News, at the same time as freelancing for a couple of national newspapers.
Travel News was brilliant; hard work but a lot of laughter and lots of travel… until I went to Kos in Greece to write about an upmarket little cruise boat. I met the engineer and he stole my heart. I moved to Rhodes a couple of years later.
Another phase, almost another life. Owning and operating a water ski school and then a day-trip boat for 92 passengers; driver/translator for the admiral of the US Sixth Fleet; selling jewellery in Rhodes Old Town; rep work and freelance writing.
I have written guide books to the Greek islands and am the author of Throw Me a Smile, published by Moodie Media, and based on a diary that kept me sane as my daughter Loukia (then aged eight) battled a rare and aggressive form of cancer.
Life was (and still is) busy as I juggled work with bringing up four children, three sons – Yanni, twins Antonis (Tony) and Stamatis (Sam) – and Loukia (Lucy). Had anyone told me years ago, I would have four kids and spend most of my life on a Greek island I would have laughed at them. But there you go. I was always a bit of an adventurer and I consider myself – after a few tough patches along the way – blessed.
When did you join The Moodie Davitt Report and what is your role?
I have been freelancing for Martin on and off for many years, starting as a Special Correspondent (I always laughed when I saw that title online) and then more regularly from around 2011. I am now Associate Editor, writing everything from industry and brand news to in-depth interviews and putting together features including Ten Pieces, Petsonality, Through the Red Door and Meet the Team.
Highlights of your time with The Moodie Davitt Report?
Based on Rhodes, I have always worked remotely but as part of the team. Over the years I have been fortunate to work with some extremely talented colleagues, on both the editorial and sales sides, many of whom are now close friends. That said, there are others I have met through my work in the industry who have also become much more than just contacts.
I’ve enjoyed getting involved with the charity work which is such an important part of The Moodie Davitt Report DNA. Cancer research is very close to my heart, so I always welcomed the opportunity to write about our efforts and support of The Royal Marsden in London. But, of course, that is just one of many.
I love the buzz of trade shows, feeling part of the beating heart of the industry, and my recent involvement with a column sponsored by Elizabeth Arden, Through the Red Door, highlighting amazing women in the industry. I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to get to know those who have taken part so far.
What is your approach to work, your business philosophy?
I believe my approach to work comes from my Kiwi upbringing and my hard-working parents and siblings; their work ethics are part of my DNA. I put my head down and get jobs done. I love a challenge and I love testing my own abilities, be that in journalism or steering the Aphrodite day trip boat back to the harbour through a raging storm years ago off the coast of Rhodes when the captain took sick.
I’m an optimist. Much like my mother, I look for and believe in the best of people. I will give my best and expect/hope it rebounds.
I refuse to dwell on negatives and rarely look back, only to use past mistakes as learnings for the future. Harking back to my English teacher, he gave me sound advice on the last day of secondary school. It was almost as if he knew the future of his 17-year-old student, telling me I would get myself into some difficult situations.
“When that happens,” he said, “file it under ‘e’ for experience, you’ll get through anything if you can do that”. That wise man would laugh at how many times I’ve had to file under that ‘e’.
How important is leisure time and out of work interests?
Extremely. Whatever field of work you are involved in you have a life.
I learned the benefits of sports from a young age. Not so much the winning/excelling aspect, more the testing of your own limits and being part of a team. I walk to clear my head and solve problems, I swim because I love the feel of the ocean, the water, the coolness, and I scuba dive to find the unexpected, the unexplained, the quiet of my own breath.
My passion to travel has never waned and there’s always a plan in the pipeline. Most recent destinations include Turkey (Istanbul and later Marmaris), Italy (a return to Rome and Florence after many years) and Morocco (Marrakesh, the Atlas Mountains and Essaouira), all great but very different trips.
I inevitably walk for miles and arrive home needing another holiday after trying to take in every sight, every art gallery, every little-known, off the beaten track place of interest.
When I can’t be outdoors, I read, I sew, listen to music, follow sport (and yes, I remain a huge supporter of the All Blacks), watch the latest Netflix series. I juggle writing with seasonal work and, as a hands-on grandmother of two lively children, my spare time is pretty limited.
I can’t imagine life without my friends and family. I adore the liveliness and madness of my family both here on Rhodes and in New Zealand and Australia. My family and friends all over the world define me; keep me looking forward to the next challenge, the next chapter.
A must-have in duty free?
Whenever I travel, I check out brands or activations I’ve written about. My most recent purchase was a Sol de Janeiro Brazilian Crush Cheirosa 40 Perfume Mist, but my must-have is a book.
I found Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus on the shelves of a bookstore at West Palm Beach Airport when I was heading home from the IAADFS Summit of the Americas earlier this year. I couldn’t put it down.
And a desert island choice of music?
Difficult to choose here as I enjoy a wide range of music. Possibly Stairway to Heaven by Led Zeppelin. I think I might need access to Spotify on my desert island… ✈
Previously on Meet The Moodie Davitt team
Introducing Senior Business Editor Mark Lane
Introducing Chief Administration Officer and ESG Manager Sinead Moodie
Introducing FAB and International Account Manager Maya Feeney
Introducing Administration and Events Support Manager Kristyn Branisel
Introducing Associate Director Events Vincci Chung
Introducing Associate Editor Camille Bersola
Introducing Development and Systems Operations Director Matt Willey
Introducing Reporter Ameesha Raizada
Introducing China Chief Representative Zhang Yimei
Introducing Vice President Sales Sarah Genest
