Latest posts by Martin Moodie (see all)
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“Good afternoon everyone and a warm, warm welcome to The Trinity Forum. You know, this is the first time in three years I have been able to say those words about the event I founded way back in 2003 and I could not be happier to be saying them again… my goodness, it is good to be back”
And so, with those words on the stage in Singapore, The Trinity Forum was back for the first time since those halcyon days of late October 2019 in Doha, Qatar. Little did we realise amid the euphoria of that event that we would not meet again for so long.
In the intervening years, every individual and company in our industry has had their lives and businesses turned upside down. The shutdown of The Trinity Forum – such an important gathering of our industry’s best minds for so long – was just of one many examples of events and businesses going into hibernation (for many, it meant collapse) during the crisis.
So to see (and run) ‘Trinity reborn’ – which quickly became the catchphrase of the 2022 edition – was immensely emotional and rewarding for me. I will be forever thankful to those who hosted, attended, sponsored and spoke, especially during a still troubled time when it might have easier to do none of those things.
There was no better example than China Duty Free Group President Charles Chen, who flew into Singapore despite having to do a ‘7+3’ quarantine on his return. Charles delivered a typically outstanding presentation and joined in a fantastic ‘Trinity’ panel discussion with Dubai Airports CEO Paul Griffiths and Global SK-II CEO Sue Kyung Lee that was both humbling and a privilege to moderate.
In the run-up to Trinity 2022 a journalist on a fellow B2B title waxed lyrical about his own organisation’s (commendable) conference in a none too subtle (and none too smart) dissing of The Trinity Forum, noting that the former event featured none of the “lengthy and often indeterminate presentation-heavy sessions synonymous with other B2B conferences”.
Hmmm, whatever that means, those characteristics were none too synonymous with a Trinity Forum underpinned by a sense of warmth, community and reunion on the one hand, and of a determination to embrace and drive change on the other. It was indeed a joyous and perhaps seminal occasion. Trinity reborn.
GALA DINNER MAGIC
