Scott SHEPHERD

Scott Shepherd is Head of Corporate Communications and Press Relations for UITP, responsible for managing the international activities of the UITP Press Office, crisis, internal and corporate communications, Visual Design Studio and Digital Library.

A qualified journalist, editor and speechwriter, with a career history in newspaper, news agency and press office environments across three countries, Scott also has experience in broadcast television and radio.

Scott has a strong background in press office management, global communications, speech writing, editorial planning, news writing and editing, research, broadcast media, crisis communications, people management and public speaking.

His UITP duties and responsibilities include managing the association’s global press output, written and on-camera interviews, news article and press release content, speech writing, hosting and organising press conferences, international media monitoring, and press-based digital media.

Within his UITP role, Scott manages the team of colleagues within the Corporate Communications and Press Relations Unit, and works closely with all senior management figures and in-house experts, and collaborates with association members, decision makers, external partners and stakeholders.

Scott is the project manager of the association’s partnership with BBC StoryWorks, the commercial and creative content arm of BBC Global News, and is the lead on all communications concerning the UITP Secretariat, UITP Presidents and communications output on UITP’s global events.

A member of UITP’s Editorial Committee, Exhibition Committee, Internal Communications Sounding Board Group, and (previously) COVID-19 Task Force, Scott is also a key account manager for five premium UITP members in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

As an experienced public speaker, Scott is a recognisable Master of Ceremonies for several international events, and has interviewed well-known public figures in print and on camera, including politicians, those within the entertainment industry, global sporting world, and the European legal sector.

With a career history in Scotland, Denmark and Belgium, Scott holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours degree in English Literature, politics and media studies, and trained for his journalistic qualifications with the National Council for the Training of Journalists.

Scott is a member of the National Union of Journalists, the European Federation of Journalists, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, the European Speechwriter Network and is a patron of the Kyiv Independent. Scott was also recently chosen by POLITICO as a ‘Mover and Shaker’ in their European Influence list.