INTERNATIONAL. The Moodie Davitt Report is delighted to reveal the panel of judges for the eagerly awaited Travel Retail Superstars Awards 2024, to be presented virtually on 4 December.

The Awards, now in their fourth year, honour thousands of frontline and behind-the-scenes heroes and heroines who have helped keep the industry going throughout the year.

Hosted by The Moodie Davitt Report, this event is run in partnership with an advisory committee of human resource and training specialists who help shape and judge the awards.

If your team member, or team, deserves star treatment, please help to highlight and give due recognition by nominating them here. Nominating parties have until 20 September to submit their entries.

A distinguished group of industry leaders will join The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie to evaluate the entries.

Among them is Ethos Farm Group of Companies Founder and CEO Sally Alington.

Ethos Farm Group of Companies Founder and CEO Sally Alington brings a wealth of industry knowledge and experience to the table

A highly respected business leader and entrepreneur, Alington has over 20 years’ experience working with airports, airlines, retailers, travel retailers and hospitality and leisure sectors.

This frontline and hands-on experience has helped reinforce the philosophy at Ethos Farm – ‘Your employees are your biggest asset, they are the ambassadors of your brand and should be at the front and centre of organisational culture and CX strategies.’

Alington has been honoured for her outstanding achievements, becoming a finalist in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year and a recipient of the UK everywoman 2023 Next Level Entrepreneur of the Year award. As an everywoman Ambassador and a long-standing member of Women in Travel Retail (WiTR+), she has made impactful contributions to travel retail for over two decades.

Joining Alington is travel retail recruitment expert Jilly Brocklebank, Founder of Recruit GTR, a boutique recruitment service dedicated to the channel.

Recruit GTR Founder Jilly Brocklebank’s wealth of experience in HR allows her to offer valuable insights to the judging process

Brocklebank’s extensive career and her commitment to people-focused HR have earned her recognition in the industry. She has dedicated more than 25 years to retail, primarily within the beauty category at UK department stores.

Her career in travel retail began with a successful 11-year stint at World Duty Free at Heathrow, spanning various roles from Operations to HR and Resourcing, further driving her passion for the channel and her dedication to fostering professional growth.

She then joined Estée Lauder Companies, where she led large teams and individuals across all organisational levels, fuelling her passion for discovering and recruiting talent for brands.

SPARK Group Founder and President Heidi Van Roon adds an essential perspective to the judging process.

Adding dazzle to the illustrious judging team is SPARK Group Founder and President Heidi Van Roon

A highly regarded travel retail figure, Van Roon has received notable recognition for her leadership, with global beauty companies highlighting her team as the benchmark for professionalism and high standards at airports in Canada and the USA.

Her white paper on Elevating Travel Retail Careers was a finalist in the Trinity Challenge (Singapore 2022) and the Frontier People and Planet: Diversity & Inclusion Award (Cannes 2023), while SPARK was the winner of the Frontier/DFNI Airport Team of the Year – Americas in 2021.

The Travel Retail Superstars Awards will showcase the achievements and best practices of travel retail employees across airport, airline, downtown store and cruise sectors, and celebrate the strength of the human spirit, resourcefulness and ingenuity in the industry.

{Click on the YouTube icon to view last year’s winners} 

The Travel Retail Superstars Awards 2024 Categories

Star Team – An award that celebrates those teams who have pulled together, working seamlessly, enthusiastically and effectively, while inspiring each other and those around them. It recognises teams who have gone beyond the call of duty, together, to make a difference and to get the job done to the highest standard.

Star Individual – This award recognises those people who everyone loves to work alongside and encounter in the workplace. For those individuals who always show up both for work and for others, who strive to walk the extra mile, who display integrity and passion, and who communicate with sincerity, friendliness and conviction.

Innovation: Team or Individual – This award is for those who have provided a difference to the business through offering innovative ideas that have been adopted (especially company-wide), and have led to increased efficiency, improvements, profitability or enhanced customer service.

Humanity, Leadership & Inspiration: Team or Individual – An award that celebrates those who have shown that leadership is an action, not just a position, and who encourage good citizenship through compassion and empathy and responsibility.

* For each of the categories, there are awards for four separate regions: Americas, Asia Pacific, Europe and Middle East & Africa. That offers 16 award opportunities.

More details on Travel Retail Superstars entry requirements are available on the website. An administration fee of US$39 per submission is payable via the portal. ✈