Here at Future Travel Experience we are always keen to give a platform to pioneering initiatives that are focused on understanding the technology and trends that will impact tomorrow’s travel experience. With this in mind, we would like to bring to your attention the ‘Departure Unknown’ podcast. Created as an independent “passion project” by Garen Moreno, who is also Director, Strategic Partnering at BMW Group Designworks and was a key member of the FTE DXB T1 Redesign Think Tank, the podcast archive already includes insightful interviews with experts from the likes of Lufthansa Innovation Hub, IBM and LaGuardia Gateway Partners. We encourage you to have a listen!
FTE: Garen, for anyone who hasn’t heard of it before, can you please explain what Departure Unknown is all about?
Garen Moreno: Departure Unknown is a podcast where we will get to know the people, products and policies that are redefining how we move ourselves and stuff around the world.
Leading individuals from aerospace, automotive and other mobility industries share insights into the future of transportation. Find out what is behind their innovations and how they are keeping the wheels of innovation in motion. Entrepreneurs, airline executives, mobility CEOs and influential designers all are key players in how our future as passengers will be defined. I will be speaking to them and many others sharing what is happening right now in this mobility revolution and, in doing so, hopefully build a picture on where we will end up.
Over the last four months the biggest value that Departure Unknown has brought to me has been seeing the business of moving people and things from different perspectives. This has inspired new product and service ideas, as well as acted as a great way to connect people who are on the same path.
FTE: What was your main motivation for creating Departure Unknown?
GM: There are three things that inspired me to create Departure Unknown:
I am a hyper-curious person, so with so much happening in mobility I was having a hard time getting a clear perspective on the mobility landscape. The podcast is a great platform to have informative conversations with the people who are really changing how we get from A to B. As I have these great conversations with leaders in the industry I can, in turn, share the journey with people who are as curious as I am about the future of how we will move around the world.
The second is a more personal desire to push my own limits and learn something valuable in the process. One of the most important things we can do is listen. To be able to ask good questions I would need to refine my ability to really listen to what is being said and what is not being said. Personally, I feel this has incredible implications on life so I am hoping the podcast can be an effective tool for me in this area.
The last is a bit more “blue sky”. I think some of the best ideas come to you when you look at your situation from a different perspective. Or better put, when we can look at the world through someone else’s eyes. By getting so many different perspectives on the industry of mobility, I am hoping that this inspires some individuals and companies to embrace new ideas and see opportunities that they hadn’t in the past.
FTE: You’ve already interviewed experts from the likes of Lufthansa Innovation Hub and IBM. What sort of interviewees can listeners expect to hear from in the coming months? Also, what sort of topics are you likely to cover?
GM: We have recently finished an episode with Ed Baklor, the CCO of LaGuardia Gateway Partners, discussing the major rebuild of the airport. I have a series of episodes coming up discussing urban mobility and I will also be doing new product reviews in a recurring segment.
In 2017 there will be some major developments with new products, vehicles and services. It is a great year to have a place to hear more about what is happening in the future of transportation.
>> Listen now: “Accelerating travel innovation” – interview with Sebastian Herzog, Co-creator & Chief Strategist, Lufthansa Innovation Hub
>> Listen now: “Developing the airport of the future” – interview with Ed Baklor, Chief Commercial Officer, LaGuardia Gateway Partners
>> Listen now: “Virtual agents and how they are impacting your life” – Chris Noessel, Head of Design, IBM
