Joe Blackman

This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 22 March 2024.

Joe Blackman MBE (born c. 1984) is an entrepreneur and former CEO of Collection 26 (formerly called Green Ant Events), a luxury event-planning company. He previously sat as a magistrate at the Cardiff Magistrates Courts.

Joe Blackman
JoeBlackman in 2012.
Bornc. 1984
NationalityWelsh
EducationMasters in Business Administration (MBA)
Alma materRoyal Welsh College of Music & Drama
OccupationEvent planner
Websitehttp://www.joeblackman.co.uk

Event planning

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Blackman was raised with two siblings in Llantwit Major, near Cardiff, Wales by his single mother, who was an events manager at St Donat's Art Centre.[1][2] He began working on events run by his mother, before starting his first business while in university.[1][3][4]

In 2005 when he was 20 years old, Blackman founded Green Ant Events, an event-planning company.[1][3][5] Venture Wales, a business-support project of the Welsh government, supported Blackman's efforts with business advice.[5] The company organised an event in Qatar at the 15th Asian Games for the International Olympic Committee.[1][6][4] In 2008 during a recession he changed its focus to luxury events for wealthy clients.[3] In 2010 he moved the business to Notting Hill in London to be closer to his target market.[1][7] In 2013 the name of the company was changed to Collection 26.[8] It threw parties for celebrities including 50 Cent, The Killers, and Premier League footballers.[9] The company was sold in 2017,[10] and the assets were returned to its investors by January 2018.[8]

Blackman was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to the economy and charity.[11]

Education

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Blackman started working on a BA degree in Stage Management at the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama in 2003 and 2004 but left to start freelancing.[1] He qualified in health and safety management by NEBOSH.[12] and then earned a master's degree in Business Administration from the University of South Wales with funding from the Welsh government.[1][2]

Magistrate service

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Blackman became a magistrate in Cardiff in 2008.[4][6] At the age of 23, he was the youngest magistrate on the Cardiff bench, and one of the youngest in the UK.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g Hattie Williams (23 March 2014). "How I made it: Joe Blackman, founder of Collection 26". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2 May 2014.[dead link]
  2. ^ a b Williams-Grut, Oscar (16 June 2014). "Growth Capital: Collection 26's Joe Blackman - the tough-minded". Evening Standard.
  3. ^ a b c Rebecca Burn-Callander (2 May 2014). "A-list party planner bucks recession". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015.
  4. ^ a b c Tom Hall (16 February 2010). "My Event World- Joe Blackman". Event Magazine. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  5. ^ a b "Welsh Events Management Company Enjoys Twenty-fold Increase in Turnover". Venture Wales. 26 April 2010. Archived from the original on 20 February 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  6. ^ a b c Sally Williams (1 February 2008). "A Benchmark Case for His Generation". Wales Online. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  7. ^ Partridge, Matthew (16 April 2014). "Joe Blackman: Key to success is to put in the hours - MoneyWeek". MoneyWeek.
  8. ^ a b "Collection 26 LTD - Filing history". Companies House. Retrieved 28 February 2018.
  9. ^ "How to get your house ready to party". The Irish Times. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  10. ^ "Entrepreneural Buddhism". Mortimer House. 25 June 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  11. ^ "No. 63571". The London Gazette (Supplement). 1 January 2022. p. N17.
  12. ^ "MIVReveals - Collection 26". Miventures. 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2018.