Toasting a man of true spirit

by Martin Moodie |
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Martin Moodie

Martin Moodie

Martin Moodie is the Founder & Chairman of The Moodie Report.

I couldn’t be more delighted to hear of John McDonnell’s promotion to President, International at Patrón Spirits.

Since joining the tequila-to-liqueur company in January 2005, John has driven its remarkable emergence on the global stage – notably in travel retail where it has gone from virtual non-entity to one of the channel’s most ever-present, well-regarded and innovative players.

John is a super-charged, ebullient, non-stop sort of character – and manager. His remarkable personal energy has played an integral role in Patrón’s incredible success story.

But he’s been far more than a work-hungry, ultra-driven executive. A few years back when I met him for the first time, at the Fort Lauderdale show, I started telling him about The Smile Train charity and the fund-raising we were doing for them. John said: “I know all about The Smile Train” and proceeded to show me how the company was hosting an annual golf day for the cause as part of a much wider commitment to community causes.

[John McDonnell has been a constant supporter of charitable and industry causes]

Whenever I, and others, have asked for support of Corporate Social Responsibility causes, you can bet your bottom Dollar that John has been the first to put his hand in his pocket. From our original ‘Miles for Smiles’ charity dinner in 2007 to all our fund-raising initiatives since, Patrón has been at the front of the line. Its support of travel retail’s most successful fund-raising effort, Hand in Hand for Haiti, was immediate, constant and extraordinary.

[John visiting a Smile Train cleft unit in the Philippines in 2007 with colleague Joe Arallano]

He and the company don’t just write cheques either. John and his team toured several Smile Train cleft hospitals in China, the Philippines and elsewhere; they took time out of crazy schedules to visit the newly built Hand in Hand for Haiti school in St Marc; for both The Moodie Report Charity Balls in Hong Kong (2007 and 2012), John has offered public relations services at Patrón’s cost, set up complimentary ice bars, taken tables and donated generously. He’s some man, they’re some company.

[The  Patrón ice bar at The Moodie Report 10th Anniversary Charity Ball last October in Hong Kong]

A final, more personal anecdote that I think captures the man. It was November 2009 and the second ‘Miles for Smiles’ 10k fun run in Dubai to support The Smile Train. I’d bolted out fast, rather pathetically for a man of my age trying (vainly) to stay with the leaders. Eventually I dropped off the pace and ran a long, lonely race on my own, well behind the leaders, well ahead of the pack. About a kilometre from the finish, John trotted past me, not a bead of sweat on his brow, while I resembled a broiled tomato, one on the point of collapse. He smiled at me but then typically, looked back, and said “Are you ok?”

When I reached the finishing line, he sought me out again to repeat the question. It wasn’t just the 10k, he thought, he didn’t think I looked well generally and expressed quiet concern. It was a prescient comment. Within months I would be diagnosed with a serious illness, one that had made that 10k much more painful than it should have been for a fit (which I was) and healthy (which I wasn’t) man.

When he learned of my illness, he wrote (I still have the e-mail): “Once you beat this, then you and I will run any race that you choose and we can go to Haiti together.”

I’ll call him up on that offer one day. But in the meantime I’ll toast the success of a man of true spirit.

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