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KEVIN HARRIS
MANAGING DIRECTOR
What is your experience / background?
My Travel career started with Specialised Travel as a travel account manager for the English Rugby Football Union and leading European orchestras and musicians. I possess in-depth experience in marketing destinations from every continent of the world, particularly the long-haul sector, and has also worked on a number major campaigns for some of the UK's largest tour operators and airlines.
I became Managing Director of MDS from 2005 which delivers strategic development and implementation of leading-edge integrated campaigns which include online, viral and email marketing, social media, print, retail, point-of-sale, retail merchandising, outdoor and 3rd party partnership activities.
Why did you choose a career in marketing?
Working in travel was always the focus. Working in marketing and advertising naturally developed along the way.
If you were a brand, what would you be? why?
Ronseal from the famous 80's advertising campaign: "It does exactly what it says on the tin".
If you could trade places with any other person for a week, real or fictional, living or deceased, with whom would it be?
Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell's books and articles often deal with the unexpected implications of research in social sciences and make frequent and extended use of academic work. Most importantly he applies this academic insight to practical use.
Favourite website?
TED (http://www.ted.com/). An insightful and at times inspirational website from some of the world's leading and often counter-intuitive thinkers.
Interesting facts?
Represented Great Britain in the World Ice Swimming Championships in 1999.
MELINA COLLIE
COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR
What is your experience / background?
I grew up in Cornwall until the age of 13 where my family moved to small French village with no English speakers, so that was my introduction to the world of communications. It took a year to become bilingual and I then when on to pass my Breuvet, before embarking on languages and literature studies at Poitiers University (complete with philosophy!). After passing my Baccalaureat and 2 years at university studying applied languages, I came back to England to do a BA Hons in Tourism Management. When I left university I moved into online healthcare initially before doing a round the world trip. I returned to work at De Beers' sales and marketing arm in London before moving to Brighton. Before joining MDS I spent just under 6 years with First Choice then TUI working on a variety of the Specialist brands' marketing and PR.
Why did you choose a career in marketing?
I've always been interested in what make people tick. I guess living abroad on several occasions, long and short term made me have to read between the lines a lot and understand situations and people without necessarily speaking the same language. It's fascinating to me that so much of communication is non verbal.
If you were a brand, what would you be? why?
I love the Innocent brand. I'm passionate about sustainable development and ethical business which I worked on a lot at TUI. I really like the consistency in messaging with Innocent and their tone which is fun and informal, but without being too over familiar. Not many brands can do that.
If you could trade places with any other person for a week, real or fictional, living or deceased, with whom would it be?
David Attenborough, without a doubt. I missed seeing him at the Green Awards last year because of the snow.
Interesting facts?
I used to be a door supervisor at university (i.e. a bouncer). That was all about communications too in hindsight!
PATRICIJA GAVELE
MARKETING MANAGER
What is your experience / background?
Born in the Soviet Union, growing up as a Latvian in Lithuania, then moving to Moscow and graduating from an Anglo-American School there, I moved to UK for my Bachelor degree in International Hospitality Management with big plans to open my own restaurant, but… came across Marketing and PR, which through me off the track - I simply found it more interesting than hospitality. As a result, I applied for an intern position in PR in Hills Balfour Synergy and after only two months got offered a permanent position as a Sales & Marketing Executive there. I then moved to MDS and been working here ever since.
Why did you choose a career in marketing?
After learning more about marketing at university I realised that it always surrounded me and, disappointing as it was for someone thinking to be an individual influenced by nothing but myself, I understood that adverts, brands and all kinds of other marketing strategies have actually affected me in many different ways and all the time. That made me even more interested and willing to learn more about the ways it works. I even wrote my dissertation on the effect restaurant colours, lighting and style has on people’s perceptions and purchase behaviour and how it affects the type of the restaurant visitors, which was the closest I could get in combining hospitality, design and marketing.
If you were a brand, what would you be? why?
Nike. It's young, it's free, it's simple, it's big.
If you could trade places with any other person for a week, real or fictional, living or deceased, with whom would it be?
Neil Armstrong - the first man on the Moon! I could be a successful businesswoman, entrepreneur, marketer or anything else, but when will I ever jump into a spaceship and fly off to the Moon?
Favourite website?
Facebook
Interesting facts?
MICHAEL McCREESH
SOCIAL MEDIA CONSULTANT
What is your experience / background?
I started my career in outdoor education and tour guiding from the early age of 16 in northern Ontario, and have been actively involved in the tourism industry ever since. Ok, I must rephrase. I started my career working at a donut shop, but I try and forget that part of my life. My experience in the tourism industry ranges from community planning in the northern hill tribes of Vietnam to working with the Yawuru People to help design remote area indigenous tourism products in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. Having lived, studied and worked on four continents I have extensive cross-cultural experience and am fundamentally a people person.
Why did you choose a career in marketing?
I have a thing for passion. Whether its food, music, fashion, or anything really, you can truly tell a product/service apart by the passion that goes into it. The problem is that there are some amazing products and services out there, but people are having difficulties reaching their audience. The Internet has changed that drastically, but now the consumers’ radar for trash is on hyper-drive. Getting your message to your audience in an authentic and relevant way is now the challenging task at hand and I wanted to show that I now how.
If you were a brand, what would you be? why?
I would be “A Bathing Ape” aka BAPE. Nigo has masterfully interweaved quality and style, building a world-class brand based on exclusivity. And he collects Planet of the Apes gear, so he has that going for him.
If you could trade places with any other person for a week, real or fictional, living or deceased, with whom would it be?
I would trade places with Smokey Robinson, whom, in 1967, Bob Dylan referred to as America's Greatest Living Poet. Have you heard the man sing? You could get a lot done in this world with a voice like that. So it would be him or Chevy Chase's character in Caddyshack.
Favourite website?
tv.winelibrary.com would be my favorite website. Gary Vaynerchuk is such a great TV host/personality. Heck the guy could be promoting chewing gum and I would probably tune in.
Interesting facts?
I've shared my own homemade apple crisp with Levon Helm from The Band in his garage...and he liked it.
NICK HAMMOND
MEDIA DIRECTOR
Nick has twenty years experience in the communications business and has worked as both an agency Board Director and Director of Sales on the media owner side. On the agency side he has worked at Saatchi & Saatchi, Publicis and Aegis. On the sales side running the Creative Solutions team at News International.
He has 10 years digital experience, working with a wide range of clients in Travel, and amongst others, the following brands - British Airways, Continental, Virgin, Bermuda Tourism, Kenya, South Africa, California and James Villa holidays.
DAVID DITZEL
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Having squandered his first year after art school living dangerously, driving lorries through central Africa to flog, it didn't take him long to realize that in dealing with the Ugandan Military his own skin was at stake!
This obviously was not a career with long term prospects so he opted for the so-called easy life in advertising. David joined McCann Erickson as a junior art director and went on to develop his career with agencies such as Grandfield Rork Collins, Saatchis, Connell May Stevenson, CM Lintas, Burton Wisgard Doxat, Reay Keating Hamer, Grey and SOUK. A career that has given him the opportunity to work on on everything from cars to tractors, hair products to airlines, ships, chips, maps, taps, white goods, brown goods, milk and plain chocolates, islands, highlands, counties, countries, nappies and all things wet.
He's won a few awards in his time not least for his cartoons!
Worryingly he now likes to create his own fireworks.
When not losing his eyebrows, David likes to watch rugby, paint, write limericks and has a passion for photography. Motorbikes are another obsession and when the weather is good he's been known to hop on and not stop until Spain. If he had to admit some dislikes they would include gardening, the Springboks and the word lozenge.
REBECCA CLEAVER
PR CONSULTANT
What is your experience / background?
Why did you choose a career in marketing?
If you were a brand, what would you be? why?
If you could trade places with any other person for a week, real or fictional, living or deceased, with whom would it be?
Interesting facts?
