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touches hearts -
stimulates minds -
prompts action -
shares your vision -
broadens horizons -
brings your values to life
What we do
Speakeasy creates inspirational live experiences that change the way people think, work and live their lives.
We conceive and execute conferences and events, exhibitions, dinners & awards with a gusto and enthusiasm which will leave you, and your target audience, wanting more. Our approach combines the freshest creative ideas with the most up to date technologies and meticulous project management, to ensure your experience is productive, rewarding – and of course fun.
Our Clients
With nearly 25 years of event management experience under our belts Speakeasy has accumulated one of the most enviable client portfolios in the business, covering public and private organisations, governing bodies, international societies and associations across all sectors – and continents.
“Speakeasy went the extra mile, many extra miles in fact!”
“…the best organised event that I have ever attended…”
“Despite late nights and early starts you maintained focus on ‘getting it RIGHT’!”
“So impressed by your creativity, tenacity and professionalism…”
“…extremely professional, responsive and flexible to work with…”
“…so helpful and positive…pulled off a fantastic day.”
“…a great team of people to work with…”
“…responsive, helpful and upfront…”
"…exceptionally well organised…"
Our People
Speakeasy is the combined capability of some of the UK’s leading experts in event and exhibition management, content design and video production.
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Alan Jones
Filming Team
Alan is a highly skilled self-shooting producer/director and editor, with a variety of broadcast and corporate credits. After graduating from Stirling University, he went to work for BBC Scotland, working on programmes including Munro: Mountain Man, The Cinema Show and Primetime. Alan then moved into TV development with BBC Scotland’s Children’s TV.
As a freelancer, he shot and directed a number of short films, gathering a series of award nominations in the process. Alan joined Speakeasy in 2013 and has used his wide variety of skills as a camera operator, director and editor on many different projects.
Alan works across the board for Speakeasy clients including Scottish Enterprise, Aberdeen University, Lloyds Banking Group and the Scottish Government.
Most awesome work moment… Climbing the Black Cuillin on Skye on a cloudless day in May. There are definitely worse ways to earn a living!
Favourite saying…“That was good…can we try one more take?”
Favourite thing…Breakfast, preferably involving strong coffee.
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Ashton Togneri
Senior Events Project and Team Manager
Ashton gets all the tough jobs. Since graduating with a First Class Honours degree in Events Management from the University of Gloucestershire, she’s organised events all over the world, including Johannesburg, Paris, Zurich – and an Australian event series that had her based in Sydney for two weeks. Clever girl :0)
During six years in London with member-based consultancy firm CEB, Ashton’s passion and people skills saw her progress from events co-ordinator to event manager, responsible for planning and executing events from private networking dinners to 200 person conferences and large drinks receptions. I love my work because No two days are ever the same! Favourite movie line "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!"(Finding Nemo) Pretty applicable to the events world as well! Favourite thing My dogs Betty & Maddie! A walk on the beach in North Berwick is my favourite thing to do -
Colette Black
Operations Director
Originally from South Africa, Colette has more than 20 years’ experience in event design, operations, logistics and project management. Her contagious enthusiasm, whirlwind energy and military attention to detail have established her reputation as an exceptional events manager in the UK and internationally.
Unruffled and upbeat under the tightest of deadlines, Colette says her toughest challenge is getting her dog Oban to stop chasing birds while they’re out in the wilds. She has worked on large scale events and international conferences throughout the UK, Europe and Asia for clients including Food Standards Scotland, The European Society of Toxicology, The International Society of Travel Medicine, Old Mutual Wealth and Sanlam Investment Management. Most awesome work moment Arranging a Gala Dinner on the Great Wall of China Favourite hobby Trail Running Best advice ever given or received Forget the mistake but remember the lesson -
Jennifer Cunningham
Events Assistant
Jennifer has a BA Honours in Events Management from the University of the West of Scotland and has been supporting events across Scotland for more than five years.
She cut her teeth volunteering for music events including Celtic Connections and organising her university’s fourth year business school graduation ball at Glasgow’s Grand Central Hotel. Jennifer then worked in operations and marketing roles supporting the delivery of events including the Food Awards Scotland, the Irn-Bru Carnival and the Scottish Wedding Show.
She also helped to organise the UCI Fort William Mountain Bike World Cup 2017, including volunteer coordination; processing GB snow sport industries memberships and engaging with potential suppliers.
Favourite office gadgetI love a good label maker!
I love my work becauseI get to meet lots of new and interesting people!
Who would play you in the film of your life?Margot Robbie (if I had blonde hair)
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Jeremy Hewitt
Creative Director
A chronic over-thinker (he pens an entertaining blog on this topic) with a seemingly unlimited capacity for innovation, Jeremy has overall control of Speakeasy’s creative output, both in Scotland and London.
He is a First Class Honours graduate in English Literature and Language (MA) and has 23 years’ experience as a writer and producer. Jeremy has devised and pitched hundreds of film and event concepts for clients including Travis Perkins, Newton Investment Management, Lloyds Banking Group and the Scottish Government. He has won countless awards for his work from the Event & Visual Communication Association (EVCOM), the Institute of Internal Communicators and New York Festival Film and TV Awards. Jeremy is also a guest lecturer on media courses at Perth College and sits on the Subject Advisory Committee for Film and Media at the University of Stirling. Most awesome work moment 9am on 3rd October, 2004 when I walked into Speakeasy, and every moment since. Mastermind topic The life cycle of the jellyfish and effect of bananas on the ripening of fruit (courtesy of kids’ school projects). Who would play you in the film of your life? Probably Samuel L Jackson – he’ll do anything. -
Jonathan Young
Managing Director
With a background in sales and marketing and more than 25 years in industry, Jonathan brings an unrivalled level of commercial acumen to Speakeasy.
Since joining the business in 2005, he has led the acquisition of two production companies in London and Edinburgh. He has also driven the transformation of Speakeasy into a full service events and film company, including exhibition design and build. His cool head, charm and unflappable professionalism have seen him compared to George Clooney (only by Jonathan himself…) He’s also an expert tea maker (we’ll need to take his word for this) and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of almost everything Speakeasy has ever done, which admittedly comes in handy. Jonathan has orchestrated hundreds of live events across the UK and internationally for clients including BAE Systems, Newton Investment Management and the Glasgow 2104 Organising Committee. The best thing about Speakeasy is Working with great people on fantastic projects for brilliant clients. Oh, and getting to play around with all the tech… Also, I'm unexpectedly good at Making the tea – but everyone beats me to it! Hidden talent Bagpipe playing. -
Kathryn Slater
Project Manager
Down-to-earth, plain speaking and laser-visioned, Kathryn has over 20 years of high-level event management experience and is a member of the Association of British Professional Conference Organisers.
After a BA (Hons) degree in Marketing with Modern Languages at the University of Strathclyde, she cut her teeth in public relations and marketing at agencies including Barkers and Catchline Communications before joining the The BIG Partnership as head of events.
Since joining Speakeasy in 2007, she has managed regular public events for clients including Food Standards Scotland and Scottish Enterprise.
Alongside her extensive skills in content development, delegate management and event production, Kathryn has rediscovered her talent for art after 20 years. “I love it! It’s so relaxing – and I’ve even sold some paintings to people who aren’t relatives!”
Office superpowerCarrying six full mugs of tea or coffee up the stairs without the use of a tray
Favourite office gadgetThe bell we ping when we win another job!
Who would play you in the film of your life?Rose Leslie, formerly Ygritte in Game of Thrones and now rocking it as a kick-ass lawyer in The Good Fight.
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Nia Young
Senior Events Project Manager
Niamh is sometimes referred to as Neeve, occasionally as Neem, but to keep things simple we’ve settled on Nia.
Nia graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a 2:1 in Business Studies and started off her events career at energy giant SSE where she quickly progressed through to Group Events Manager covering Group Brand and Events within the Corporate Affairs team. With her vast experience in corporate conferences and events, Nia plays a key role in managing a huge variety of Speakeasy projects. Loft Lightning’s defence demon, Nia spends the majority of her free time playing and coaching Netball or at the gym! A keen brunch goer…feed her some poached eggs, smashed avo with salmon and maybe a halloumi fry or two and she’s in heaven. Nia’ly. Unofficial job title... Breakfast Chef Most used phrase... “I’m hungry" The best thing about Speak is... The office tunes and accompanying Events Team Choir -
Niamh Kavanagh
Events Project Manager
Niamh likes fiddling. Often with her cockerpoo, but mostly with the arrangements for really big Speakeasy events.
Niamh kicked off her events career in Belgium arranging bespoke educational programmes for international organisations visiting Brussels and European institutions. Moving to Edinburgh in 2010 she landed a BA (Hons) in Event Management at Queen Margaret University before switching to The University of Edinburgh where her organisational prowess and enthusiasm for all things ‘event’ saw her progress from events assistant to delivering conferences for up to 450 delegates, large networking dinners, receptions and workshops. All very good, but not good enough for our Niamh. In 2020 Niamh moved to Speakeasy to fulfil her destiny at the helm of some really exciting national and international events, many of them for global Associations. We think she may be Irish. Hidden talent... I’ve played the violin since I was 5 years old. You will be surprised to know... I love hip hop! Favourite thing... My cockerpoo Max 🙂 -
Peter Smith
Editor
Peter knows Final Cut Pro X like the back of his hand and is also unexpectedly good at Boolean algebra simplifications (using the standard set of equivalences).
After a Philosophy degree and postgrad diploma in IT from the University of Glasgow, he worked in IT in Germany, learning the language along the way. Returning to Scotland, Peter began freelancing as a cameraman and editor, gathering a host of corporate and music industry clients. When Speakeasy acquired Edinburgh-based corporate video specialist Republic Productions in 2008, Peter was the company’s senior editor – so we’re v pleased he joined our fold! He now manages our post-production facility in Edinburgh, as well as troubleshooting routine tech and IT problems. The best thing about Speakeasy is... The camaraderie. By the way, I’m currently learning how to... Compute axis-aligned bounding box collision detection for a game I'm making. In real-time, of course. Hidden talent… I once learned enough Norwegian in a month to be able to read a simple novel, solely by listening to Norwegian radio. (It was many years ago, I was unemployed and had a lot of time on my hands. I have forgotten almost all of it. But I still have the book I read). -
Stuart Simpson
Head of IT
Okay Modest and unassuming, Stuart has a planet-sized brain and is basically the office expert on Everything. His technical prowess and infinite wisdom have helped us out of more than a few IT scrapes over the years (seriously Stu – thanks!). And his ability to remain calm and rational in the face of hysteria is simply masterful.
Stuart has a BA in Film and Media from Stirling University and since joining Speakeasy in 2003, has helped develop our edit facilities into one of the best post-production departments in the UK. Stuart’s technical ability and vast knowledge of Final Cut and Creative Cloud have been developed whilst working on thousands of client programmes ranging from drama to documentary. Office superpower... Fixing anything that's broken By the way, I’m currently learning how to… Learning how best to handle remote filming and editing Hidden talent... I can field-strip and rebuild a 2 stroke engine -
Victoria Masterson
Content Producer
A news junkie and former hack, Vicky is also an avid recycler and informal member of the Punctuation Police.
After graduating from the University of Edinburgh with an MA (Hons) in English Literature, she freelanced for BBC Radio Scotland before embarking on a 20-year career in print and broadcast journalism.
Specialising in business, Vicky was formerly deputy business editor of The Herald and Scottish business editor of The Sunday Times. She was also part of the launch team at L!ve TV, the former Mirror Group cable channel. Vicky started freelancing for Speakeasy in 2014 and joined the business full-time in 2016. Vicky’s Speakeasy clients include VisitScotland, the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration, NHS Education for Scotland and the Scottish Government.
Unofficial job titleGreen Team Champion
Favourite sayingJust do it
Who would play you in the movie of your life?Audrey Hepburn or Grace Kelly, of course
Our Awards
We see award schemes as a great way of learning from others and picking up best practice from around the industry. Here’s a few we’ve won along the way.
