SPEAKERS
Martin Moodie
Founder & Chairman
The Moodie Davitt Report
Martin Moodie is that rarest of species – a flying Kiwi. The New Zealand-born writer, editor and commentator has spent much of the past 37 years in the sky or in airports, researching, reporting and commentating on the travel retail sector that he loves.
Martin Moodie
Founder & Chairman
The Moodie Davitt Report
Martin Moodie created The Moodie Davitt Report (then called The Moodie Report) in 2002, driving it to prominence from a start-up to the leading provider of business intelligence for the travel retail and airport commercial revenue sectors. He also conceived The Trinity Forum and the Airport Food & Beverage (FAB) Conference & Awards.
A New Zealander, now based out of London and Hong Kong, Moodie has been involved in this industry for 37 years. From 1992 he was Editor and, from 1996, Managing Director of Duty-Free News International.
In 2002 he took the fateful decision to step out on his own and develop travel retail’s first digitally led media and business intelligence service. Within two years The Moodie Report was market leader, a position it has since strengthened.
Today The Moodie Davitt Report ranks as one of the world’s most successful business-to-business multimedia titles, enjoying strong readership and respect levels all around the globe. It has embraced the digital age with zeal and is synonymous with innovative, immediate and highly visual coverage of major industry developments. In 2017, Martin Moodie received the Frontier Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Industry.
Martin Moodie
Founder & Chairman
The Moodie Davitt Report
Martin Moodie is that rarest of species – a flying Kiwi. The New Zealand-born writer, editor and commentator has spent much of the past 37 years in the sky or in airports, researching, reporting and commentating on the travel retail sector that he loves.
After emigrating to the UK in 1987 (he still can’t fathom why), Martin stumbled into the drinks and duty free industry at US publication Impact International before playing a key role in developing Duty-Free News International through the 1990s, where he became Editor and later Managing Director.
In 2002, convinced of the future of digital publishing, he made the fateful decision to go it alone and launched a humble 7-page pdf newsletter called The Moodie Report. The company’s ‘Worldwide Headquarters’ was his garden shed in London, his only staff four goldfish referred to as his Finnish team members.
The rest is history. Within three years The Moodie Report (now The Moodie Davitt Report) was the market leader ahead of stiff multi-national competition and both it and he haven’t looked back since.
A lover of good wine (particularly from his homeland), the All Blacks, Bob Dylan, John Prine, Leonard Cohen, Mark Knopfler, Johnny Cash, John Steinbeck and F.Scott Fitzgerald, he plays the piano shockingly, listens to music incessantly, works around the clock and never admits to defeat. 68 going on 12, he now lives in Hong Kong, China, overlooking the South China sea.
His planned epitaph is ‘Free of duty at last’.
Dermot Davitt
President & Editorial Director
The Moodie Davitt Report
Dermot Davitt is one of the most experienced editors and commentators working in the travel retail media. He joined what was then The Moodie Report in April 2006 as Deputy Publisher, becoming a shareholder and President in August 2015.
Dermot Davitt
President & Editorial Director
The Moodie Davitt Report
Dermot Davitt is one of the most experienced editors and commentators working in the travel retail media. He joined what was then The Moodie Report in April 2006 as Deputy Publisher, becoming a shareholder and President in August 2015.
He manages the company’s flourishing Print Division and also plays a key editorial role on the industry’s leading daily business intelligence website, www.MoodieDavittReport.com, and the leading online journal, The Moodie Davitt e-Zine. He is also actively involved in many of the company’s other business streams, from research to consultancy.
Previously Dermot spent ten years with trade magazine Duty-Free News International, six of those years as Editor-in-Chief, having joined in 1996. Based in Galway, Ireland, Dermot is also a highly experienced conference moderator. He has chaired and moderated many of the travel retail industry’s leading events over the years, including FAB, The Trinity Forum, the annual MEADFA Conference, the TFWA Asia Pacific Conference, the Nordic Travel Retail Seminar and many others.
Dermot Davitt
President & Editorial Director
The Moodie Davitt Report
Dermot Davitt is one of the most experienced editors and commentators working in the travel retail media. He joined what was then The Moodie Report in April 2006 as Deputy Publisher, becoming a shareholder and President in August 2015.
He manages the company’s flourishing Print Division and also plays a key editorial role on the industry’s leading daily business intelligence website, www.MoodieDavittReport.com, and the leading online journal, The Moodie Davitt e-Zine. He is also actively involved in many of the company’s other business streams, from research to consultancy.
Previously Dermot spent ten years with trade magazine Duty-Free News International, six of those years as Editor-in-Chief, having joined in 1996. Based in Galway, Ireland, Dermot is also a highly experienced conference moderator. He has chaired and moderated many of the travel retail industry’s leading events over the years, including FAB, The Trinity Forum, the annual MEADFA Conference, the TFWA Asia Pacific Conference, the Nordic Travel Retail Seminar and many others.
Alina Alam
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Mitti Social Initiatives Foundation
Alina Alam is the Founder and CEO of Mitti Café, the world's largest chain of cafés managed by people with physical, intellectual and psychiatric disabilities.
Alina Alam
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Mitti Social Initiatives Foundation
Alina Alam is the Founder and CEO of Mitti Café, the world's largest chain of cafés managed by people with physical, intellectual and psychiatric disabilities.
At 23, with no startup capital and facing countless rejections, Alina relied on community support to bring her vision to life. From donated equipment to a simple table under an umbrella, her initiative grew into the world’s largest chain of cafés run entirely by persons with disabilities.
Mitti Café works towards economic independence and dignity for persons with disabilities. The organisation’s outreach initiative helps create awareness about inclusion and disability rights.
Alina’s journey with Mitti Café began with a dream to showcase the abilities of individuals with disabilities and a belief in equal opportunities for all. Today, Mitti Café operates in nearly 63 locations across India, including prestigious sites such as the Supreme Court, Rashtrapati Bhawan, Rashtrapati Nilayam and major airports.
Leaders such as Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Honourable President of India Smt Droupadi Murmu, Honouable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi and Infosys Founder Narayana Murthy have lauded Alina’s efforts, with the Defence Minister and Lok Sabha Speaker inaugurating Mitti Cafés, sending a powerful message of inclusion.
In 2024, Alina received the National Award for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities from the President of India. She has also been listed on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list and has received national and international recognition from the United Nations, Commonwealth, NITI Aayog, UNESCO, Rotary, and TieCon for her impactful work.
Under Alina’s leadership, Mitti Café has created over 6,500 livelihoods, served over 21.8 million meals and provided 8.8 million ‘Karuna Meals’ to vulnerable communities.
For Alina, Mitti Café is not just a café – it’s a global movement for dignity, empowerment and inclusion, aiming to transform a billion lives.
Alina Alam
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Mitti Social Initiatives Foundation
Alina Alam is the Founder and CEO of Mitti Café, the world's largest chain of cafés managed by people with physical, intellectual and psychiatric disabilities.
At 23, with no startup capital and facing countless rejections, Alina relied on community support to bring her vision to life. From donated equipment to a simple table under an umbrella, her initiative grew into the world’s largest chain of cafés run entirely by persons with disabilities.
Mitti Café works towards economic independence and dignity for persons with disabilities. The organisation’s outreach initiative helps create awareness about inclusion and disability rights.
Alina’s journey with Mitti Café began with a dream to showcase the abilities of individuals with disabilities and a belief in equal opportunities for all. Today, Mitti Café operates in nearly 63 locations across India, including prestigious sites such as the Supreme Court, Rashtrapati Bhawan, Rashtrapati Nilayam and major airports.
Leaders such as Chief Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, Honourable President of India Smt Droupadi Murmu, Honouable Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi and Infosys Founder Narayana Murthy have lauded Alina’s efforts, with the Defence Minister and Lok Sabha Speaker inaugurating Mitti Cafés, sending a powerful message of inclusion.
In 2024, Alina received the National Award for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities from the President of India. She has also been listed on Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list and has received national and international recognition from the United Nations, Commonwealth, NITI Aayog, UNESCO, Rotary, and TieCon for her impactful work.
Under Alina’s leadership, Mitti Café has created over 6,500 livelihoods, served over 21.8 million meals and provided 8.8 million ‘Karuna Meals’ to vulnerable communities.
For Alina, Mitti Café is not just a café – it’s a global movement for dignity, empowerment and inclusion, aiming to transform a billion lives.
One of the world’s most successful multi-media business-to-business publishers