⏰ September 1st is often the day for new beginnings.
For me and for Clownfish, it’s a huge one today!
After 16 years as Managing Director, it’s time to pass the baton on. And after much speculation, I’m genuinely proud to announce that the new MD of Clownfish Events is our very own… 👇
Meet Jonny
Jonny began with Clownfish nine years ago on his gap year, when he joined part-time, on about minimum wage, cleaning dance floors and coiling cables.
After completing his degree, he returned full-time in 2020 and launched Clownfish Media during the pandemic. From there, he went on to lead the marketing team, and in March 2024 became Sales Director – where he and his team broke every sales record in company history.
Over the past few months, we interviewed external candidates for the MD role. But in the end, the decision was unanimous: shareholders, managers, the board and the wider team all backed our guy, Jonny 🙌
That in itself says a lot about him. But for me, it also says a lot about our culture – we grow our own and always first look to promote from within.
We’ve already been working on the transition for months, and just last week returned from our annual offsite in Peacehaven with 20 of us planning this next chapter. The feeling is one of excitement, fresh energy and genuine new beginnings.
Matt’s BIG Decision
It’s worth saying, this has been a gigantic process of epic thinking. I’ve realised when a business reaches a certain size, the founder isn’t necessarily the best person to manage all the things day-to-day. And at our size, there’s a lot of things!
It’s a funny idea that the visionary, entrepreneurial founder (me 👋 ) would automatically be great at the meticulous stuff – detailed P&L reporting, weekly department meetings and endless processes (not me 🙋♂️). And whilst it took me a bit of time to get there, I’m good with that.
After 16 years of only ever having ONE job, it’s also time for change personally. I started this business at 18 years old and honestly don’t remember what life is like without the pressures of payroll, team and clients. I’m now 35.
I also realised, to effectively replace me, I’d need to get of out the way of the new MD and allow them to put their stamp on the business (without me lurking about)! And so yes, I’ve made myself redundant…
After nearly 6,000 days since I started, I leave Clownfish in the strongest position it’s ever been in (by a country mile) with:
- An absurdly brilliant team
- An amazing culture (Sunday Times Best Place to Work)
- The best revenue and client list we’ve ever enjoyed
Matt’s Future
My 18-year-old self could never have predicted any of our success. It’s gonna take me some time to process all of this.
Once I’ve done that, I plan to share my learnings and failings. I feel like I’ve ‘done the reps’, got the entrepreneurial t-shirt and would love to help the next business and team leader.
For now, I’ll be cheering from the sidelines – proud, grateful and hugely excited for what lies ahead for Clownfish.
After a break, I will transition to a non-executive chairman.
This is, without doubt, one of the most significant days of the Clownfish story ❤️ a first of September I’ll never forget.
Thanks for being part of it all,
Matt Turner, Managing Director 2009-2025
Keep in touch with me on LinkedIn here
