Speakers

Carolyn Ryan 2 Fish Management

Profile:

Caroline Ryan, founder of 2 Fish Management, passionately believes that anything is possible. Four years ago, she opened an event management business in a spare room at home. With an impressive career in advertising and marketing, she had little experience in the industry she was about to embrace. But she had determination, enthusiasm and a theory that events were an under-utilized part of the Marketing mix. Barely months into the business, she had the opportunity to pitch for the Tooheys New hospitality site at their inaugural Melbourne Cup Carnival. Her company was the wild card. To the shock of the industry she won the business and went on to redefine corporate hospitality at the Cup. 2 Fish Management offered a more strategic understanding of events, and a creative product that was over and above what had been done before.

The following year, Emirates and L'Oréal became 2 Fish Management clients, joined by Lavazza and Westpac the year after that. 2 Fish Management now has a core team of seven that manage product launches, corporate hospitality, board retreats, conferences, street activity, promotions, displays and exhibitions. They have developed unique event properties for clients as diverse as Microsoft, Deloitte Touché Tohmatsu, National Australia Bank, Bulgari and the Victorian WorkCover Authority.

Caroline started her business without any invested capital, partners or even start-up contacts and leads. She decided to tackle ‘head on’ an industry that she knew very little about. It has been a hard and challenging road. But her passion, energy, openness and commitment to her beliefs and team has seen 2 Fish Management become one of the fastest growing and dynamic businesses in the industry.