The Copilot Spotlight navigates into the minds and experiences of travel professionals and professional travelers. Join us in the cockpit with Michael Moritz, Partner of Sequoia Capital and owner of Borgo Pignano, Tuscany.

What you do:

I help Sequoia invest in young and promising technology companies.

Where was the first place you ever traveled?

Manchester, England to see my Uncle and Aunt.

Where is the last place you visited?

Borgo Pignano, Tuscany – the countryside retreat our family owns in Italy.

Where is next for you? Why?

During September – London, Berlin, Seattle and Aspen for business.

Why do you choose to travel?

Mainly for business but these are always quick trips. The best trips are slower and with family and friends to try and get behind the curtains of wherever it is we go.

How has travel helped to define your world view?

It’s helped me understand how little I know about the way others live and the challenges they face.

Where is the favorite place you’ve traveled and why?

Borgo Pignano because, after twenty years of planting roots, it now feels like part of me.

When on your travels have you felt the most out of your comfort zone?

Fortunately, I have never encountered or traveled to war zones and have never been threatened while traveling. A 700 miles, 63,000 foot cycling trip acoss the Dolomites and Swiss Alps in the worst August weather if fifty years made me wonder why I ever left home.

Who is the most interesting person you have ever met while traveling and why?

The most interesting traveler I have encountered is Jan Morris who, as a youngster was the only journalist to accompany the first expedition to successfully conquer Everest and who, for the rest of her life, has written about her journeys, wanderings and voyages to all corners of the earth – capturing the sights, sounds and smells of distant places between book ends.

What’s the next trend in travel?

Staying still.

We all have our stories. How has your life’s story influenced the way you travel? 

I come from a family whose roots were torn up and was born in one country but live in another and have learned that home is where travel takes you.

What is the most impactful travel experience you have had? How has it shaped you?

Standing on the deck of the QE2 in 1976 (after traveling from the United Kingdom on a special student ticket) and listening to the sound of traffic on the Verrazano Bridge while waiting for my adventures in America to begin.

In what ways, as a society, can we change travel to be a force for good?

By watching, listening and learning from the people we meet.