As Parallel Blue marks its 35th anniversary in 2026, managing director Paul Martin reflects on his route into events, steering the business through tough times, and why opportunity still exists for agile agencies…
Congratulations on Parallel Blue reaching the 35-year milestone. You joined the business in 2013 and later took over as owner and managing director in 2017. How did that journey come about?
I didn’t go into events straight away. After leaving college, I spent nearly 10 years working in financial services.
Then in the early 2000s, I had the opportunity to support the ramping up of Cowes Week, which was sponsored by my company, Skandia, at the time. I’ve always been an organiser, that’s just who I am, so that was my first real step into events.
That role grew into organising conferences, meetings and hospitality, and I did that for about 10 years. We worked with Parallel Blue during that time, so I’d known the owner John Denton since 2002. When he started looking for a way out, we had a conversation, and it just made sense.
It was a risk moving from a secure financial services role into the agency world, but it felt like the right opportunity to give the business a new direction and breathe new life into it.
To read the rest of the article, please click here