“It really brings together the digital and


physical realm and experience in and around the airport and travel experiences.”


TALENT IS CRITICAL


The firm’s ambition – to put TravelTech on the map as an equivalent to FinTech and HealthTech – has led to a big drive for talent and recruitment. Talent is one of the things Shakarchi is


most proud of in the last 12 months, aside from the innovations themselves. It has been critical to any innovation Collinson has implemented and will continue to be critical for future growth. “We’ve managed to bring in some


industry-leading professionals and thought leaders from Google and Amazon and from some of the leading financial services players as well. “By bringing those minds together, that’s


where we started to see the next generation of thinking come through around what the future state of that travel ecosystem really looks like. “We’re starting to build, what I would


real life problems for people,” he says. Shakarchi and Collinson believe in showcasing the value proposition of travel to attract the best talent, which will in turn play a key part in solving the industry’s issues. “If we can package that up as an industry and really get after it, then the talent will start to grow. We’re seeing this in Collinson


but across other organisations as well.” While they have seen the fruit of their labour in challenging the perception of


TravelTech’s value, it’s still a journey for Collinson. We want to make sure that


we’re raising the bar not just for Collinson but also for the industry as a whole


call, a really cutting-edge industry team that’s looking across product, data, technology and innovation, and how that can help drive the industry, as well as the common sense of ambition forward.” Shakarchi worries, however, that the industry as a whole has


some work to do to translate TravelTech’s value proposition to the technology industry, especially if it is to stand toe-to-toe with the likes of FinTech and HealthTech’s buzz. New to the industry himself before joining Collinson,


Shakarchi adds that the sector has “some significant challenges to address and some of the highest-value impact on humans”. “If you look at why HealthTech is successful, it’s because it tackles


Mo Shakarchi TRAVEL TWIN


In their quest to create the world’s most valued travel ecosystem, Collinson wants to eradicate the fragmented nature of both digital and physical realms. A fragmented physical experience with a “disconnected and fragmented” digital experience creates the “perfect storm for a bad customer experience”. The tonic to this issue is providing travellers with their very


own digital twin. “The digital twin in a web 3.0 world starts to create a more curated experience for that customer, and it starts to empower them through their journeys,” says Shakarchi. “It’s a new concept for the consumer, as


previously it has only been used to replicate physical infrastructure, like its use case in manufacturing as part of industry 4.0. “The reason for it gaining popularity and


exposure now is because as a society we’re creating a bigger digital footprint online than ever before, which allows us to potentially create a digital twin version of the traveller. “A travel twin will mean travellers have a


proactively better experience and you can go on to plug the whole ecosystem into it. “If a company knows that I’m


“We want to make sure that we’re raising the bar not just for Collinson but also for the industry as a whole, because the better people we bring into the organisation, the higher the bar is for the travel industry as a whole,” says Shakarchi. Overall, Collinson is investing heavily


in recruitment and currently has a range of exciting opportunities covering product, data technology and innovation roles. Collinson says its focus on its


people is a “cycle of success”, with the knock-on effect that staff need “worry” only about their customers.


20 — OCTOBER 2023


20 — OCTOBER 2023 — TRA OLUTION.COMTRAVOLUTION.COM


PICTURE: GETTY IMAGES/ YIU YU HOI/COLLINSON GROUP


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