Martin completed his PhD at King's College London in 2024 with a thesis titled ‘A Splendid Weapon to Those Who Dispute Our Motives in the Ex-Imperial World’: Britain’s Response to the 1964 Zanzibar Revolution. He was supervised by Professor Sarah Stockwell and Professor Toby Green. His research examined British policymaking during the decolonisation of Zanzibar within its broader international and transnational contexts, exploring the interplay between Anglo-Zanzibari relations and the Cold War, the Commonwealth, and African nationalism.

Before this, Martin was a leader of several large businesses in the leisure and retail sectors, including Virgin Active Health Clubs, Camelot Lotteries, Rank Group plc and Safeway Stores plc. He held Chair, Non-Executive Director, CEO and Managing Director positions on company boards and industry bodies. Over the last several years Martin has also been Chair of the Board of Governors at the University of Staffordshire, a trustee of an NGO that helps refugees access university, and a trustee of a large multi-academy trust.