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TRI-POD
Episode 5: Heidi van Roon, President & Founder of the SPARK Group of Companies
Episode 5 of TRI-POD, the new Moodie Davitt Report video podcast series in association with The SEVA Group, features Heidi Van Roon, President & Founder of the Spark Group of Companies, one of the most dynamic and passionate individuals in the travel retail community.
Her Vancouver-based company provides a wide array of market-leading recruitment and staffing services for luxury & airport retailers and brands.
In this episode, Heidi talks about her early life in Canada as the daughter of immigrant parents; her subsequent career development and the realisation that she was a natural-born entrepreneur.
In a compelling segment, she addresses the crucial role of frontline staff in a fast-evolving, pandemic-shaped airport landscape. But rather than painting a stark picture of a contactless future, Heidi contends that human engagement is actually more important than ever.
We also discover that Heidi has multiple strings to her bow. What’s her connection with a Canadian number one hit single? Tune in to find out.
As always, Roger and Martin don’t just talk shop with their guest. Find out what duty free item (bought at the Dufry store at Vancouver International Airport wine store, of course) Heidi might chill out with on a balmy evening and meet the fascinating trio she plans to invite to an al fresco dinner on TRI-POD’s resident paradise island.
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8. Up close and personal with Maitreyi Karanth
52:07In the latest episode of TRI-POD, The Moodie Davitt Report’s travel retail-themed video podcast series in association with The SEVA Group, we meet Maitreyi Karanth, stand-up comic, actor, producer, poet, philanthropist, humanitarian, dog lover, dog rescuer and the human tour de force behind Women in Travel Retail+’s chosen charity for 2023, the Koma Karanth Foundation.7. Ellen Torvi, Gold Bar Spirits Company
27:58Martin and Roger speak with Ellen Torvi from Gold Bar Spirits Company6. Garry 'Gadget' Maxwell of GMAX Travel Retail
45:37This episode’s special guest on TRI-POD, The Moodie Davitt Report’s video podcast series in association with The SEVA Group, is Garry Maxwell, UK-based owner of GMAX Travel Retail, a company he created after spending 18 years alongside at Premier Portfolio as the key third man alongside co-owners Kevin Walsh and Andrew Webster.5. Susan Gray, airport concessions specialist and “accidental hotelier”
46:49We talk to Isabel about growing up in Salamanca; her travel retail debut; and her key mentors down the years. On our resident desert island, her choice of dinner companions makes for a wonderful celebration of International Women’s Day.Meet Dufry’s Isabel Zarza
01:03:04Welcome to TRI-POD, The Moodie Davitt Report’s video podcast series in association with The SEVA Group. It is hosted by Organico Solutions (The SEVA Group) Managing Director Roger Jackson and The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie.This episode’s special guest is Isabel Zarza, Chief Operating Officer North & Central Europe, Russia & Africa at Dufry Group, and one of the most widely respected individuals in the global travel retail community.Isabel is a youthful veteran of our industry, having joined Spanish travel retailer Aldeasa some 26 years ago in February 1997 and having spent most, not all, of the intervening years in a variety of roles with the subsequent incarnations of Aldeasa – World Duty Free Group and Dufry. In this edition we find out more about those years but as always on TRI-POD this is about discovering the person behind the executive, from her early years to life highlights along the way.3. From the Hawaii of the midlands to the French Riviera with TFWA MD John Rimmer
53:20This episode’s special guest on TRI-POD, in association with The SEVA Group, is John Rimmer, the Managing Director of Tax Free World Association (TFWA), a man well-known and much-respected to many people within the global travel retail community.