Meet the team - Platinum Media Group

Always fresh, always relevant, always irreverent.

The Platinum Media Group was formed eight years ago to serve the business community of the South East. The region is the economic powerhouse of the UK but was very poorly served by any publication that connected businesses and kept them abreast of all the news, views and opinion.

Our flagship title is Platinum Business Magazine which covers the whole of Sussex and is the largest circulation regional business magazine in the UK. With the high quality production and even higher journalistic standards, of which we are very proud, we were then contacted by the Surrey Chambers of Commerce to produce their magazine. The Surrey Business Magazine is now the largest circulation business title in Surrey.

The latest launch is Dynamic Magazine, Europes only magazine for women in business, which features inspirational businesswomen and a raft of campaign issues.

The company was started by Maarten Hoffmann and Ian Trevett. Maarten has a long illustrious background with the BBC, followed by many years of business working with some of the largest blue-chip companies in the UK, and Ian has a long and successful background in print media across a wide spectrum of sectors. Together, they brought a fresh perspective to the world of publishing and changed the manner in which such magazines are brought to market, with the use of Corporate Partners offering unique thought leadership, current affairs and much more.

Maarten Hoffmann

Founder / Publisher

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After 20 years at the BBC in London, Maarten has been resident in Sussex for many years.

Having been a journalist for many years, Maarten brings strong opinions and an acerbic wit to the magazine and is rightly proud of the result – an informative, independent and knowledgeable publication that has gained tremendous traction within the business community.

He is also Founder of the premier business networking forum in the county, The Platinum Club, which takes a totally fresh view on the networking formula and has seen tremendous growth since its inception in 2010.

Lesley Alcock

Commercial Director

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Lesley has a varied media career at The London Evening Standard, The Observer Newspaper and a London based advertising agency.

As Head of Sponsorship and Promotions at Capital Radio, Lesley was responsible for achieving in excess of £1m in sponsorship targets across the independent radio network.

Fiona Graves

Events Director

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Fiona heads up the events portolfio at Platinum and has over a decade of experience in media relations and producing award-winning events for an array of high-profile clientele including the Sky Sports Living for Sports Awards, UK Startup Awards, Sussex Business Awards, Brighton and Hove Business Awards and the Surrey Business Awards.

Fiona have also worked across many notable PR campaigns and product launches spanning design, beauty, and tech. Clients included Fujifilm digital cameras, The Daily Mail Group’s Outdoors Show, Grand Designs Live, Ford, Npower, L’Oreal and Mercedes F1.

Michelle Shakesby

Head of Design