Our people
Our team at Universal Live are a diverse and talented bunch. We take our work seriously without being too serious.
As a team we enjoy working together and the belief in and dedication to the company is obvious; both on a daily basis and also in the success we have achieved over the last fifteen years, managing to achieve and sustain our current highly competitive market place.
We have a large team of over 80 full
time employees, and you can find
out more about some of our key
people here.
Jon Eden – Technical Director
Jon has been in the live event industry since 1985 when he started out as a touring rock and roll sound engineer. In 1996 he created Universal Live which since then has grown continually year on year. He has been the lead on major events for many household names, covering every kind of live event from music festivals to conferences to product launches to awards ceremonies and more. Jon’s experience in the role enables him to
coordinate the creative, production and
technical teams in order to deliver
flawless events time after time,
coming in on budget and
ensuring full client satisfaction.
Robin Kershaw – Senior Project Manager
Prior to joining Universal Live in 1997, Robin’s wide ranging career had involved electronics, music, corporate communications and fashion shows. All this experience was later to become integral in the many areas of live events that Universal Live now cover. Robin’s first role with Universal Live was as Hire Manager. At the time it was Robin and Jon Eden who looked after all live events and have since witnessed the substantial growth that has led to the Universal
Live we have today. Robin says that
being part of events involving
Tina Turner and McFly have
been the real high points!
Ben Phillips – Hire Manager
Ben’s AV career began in Australia in 1998 where he started out as a warehouse storeman. He then spent a couple of years travelling in America where he met his wife and settled in the UK. He initially joined Universal Live as a Venue Support AV Manager in 2006 before joining the team at Head Office as Warehouse Manager. Now the Hire Manager, Ben draws on his experience both on site and behind the scenes to act as the
operational hub of the company,
coordinating the Project Managers’
requirements and relaying this
to the office and warehouse
teams to get the job done. Out of
work Ben is known to enjoy real
ale and surfing, but has
turned to rowing due to
West Yorkshire’s lack
of coastline!
Caine Iles – Head of Operations
Caine has worked in the live events industry for 17 years, starting in the south of England before migrating up north and joining Universal Live in 2002. He has a very wide base of experience in the industry and has delivered events worldwide, working on royal visits, expos, fashion shows, green-field events, live experiences and well over 1000 conferences. After years of running live events his hair is going grey, so he now looks after running the operational side
of Universal Live, while still sharing
his knowledge with the younger
members of the team. Outside
of work he’s a competitive
member of Bradford
Amateur Rowing Club,
both on the water
and in the pub.
Andy Robinson – Financial Controller
Andy manages the money. He and his team make sure that employees are paid on time and that cash is collected so that there is enough money in the company’s coffers. He prepares financial accounts so that management decisions can be made on an informed basis. He has 3 fabulous boys that take up a lot of his non-work time. He is a Bradford Bulls season ticket holder and has been known to enjoy the odd game of poker.
Carl Harris – Managing Director
Carl started the company way back in 1990 when he became the UK distributor for a brand of Australian-manufactured tripods. These were Universal tripods and though the name has stood the test of time it soon became apparent that Carl needed to branch out into other areas of AV for the business to be viable. Universal AV Services Ltd was born and the company has grown year on year ever since. Carl puts this success down to “having the best staff in the world”.
Carl now splits his time between
Universal Live and AV Services,
keeping an eye on what’s
going on in each part
of the business.
Terry Pagan – Area Manager (Midlands)
Terry is one of our most experienced people, having over 27 years in the industry under his belt. Having worked as a Project Manager for an internationally renowned company for 10 years, he started his own company in 1994. This was very successful and in 1997 it was sold to a PLC. During his career Terry has managed high-profile events all over the world, ranging from important political events such as the G8 Summit and the handover of Macau Island to the
Chinese, to large corporate events,
motorshows and airport openings.
He is married with two children
and loves spending his spare
time sailing and scuba diving.
David Horsburgh - Senior Graphics and Media Technician
David studied BA Animation and SFX at the University of Bradford before joining Universal Live in 2009. With 3 years technical theatre experience under his belt at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival he was a perfect fit. Here at Universal he is our all-round media guru. From eye-popping 3D Animation to cutting edge interactive content and HD video editing, David is always striving to push our content work further. He likes bikes, Bob Dylan,
cold cider on a hot day and arty
movies (even the ones he
doesn't understand).
Suzanne Adams – Business Development Manager
Suzanne trained and worked as a Theatre Designer before discovering the themed event industry in 1998. Over the last thirteen years she has worked across a broad spectrum of events. Her experience includes design and operational planning for large conferences and exhibitions, sporting hospitality facilities, parties and experiential events. Suzanne worked as a consultant for Farnborough International and was the Project Director of FIVE, a permanent venue on the airshow site. Throughout her career Suzanne has
worked on developing business,
creating opportunities and
forming supply chain
solutions.
Pete Bramwell – Project Manager
Pete started playing with lighting whilst studying for a Biomedical Science degree at Bradford University in 1997 and loved it, so much so he became a freelance lighting technician and designer after completing his studies. He joined the Universal Live team in 2007 as Senior Lighting Technician where he continued to work on a wide variety of different events as well as developing skills in CAD and Project Management. This led to an easy
transition to our Project Management
team in early 2011, and Pete is
enjoying the challenges his new
role brings with it. Outside of
work Pete loves watching
motorsports and enjoys
walks and outings with
his family.
Oliver Cross – Technical Sales
Oliver studied Business Studies at Buckingham University before joining Universal Live in 2009. Prior and during his time at university he gained a large amount of technical experience working on indoor and outdoor events across the country. He started working for Universal Live as an AV Manager at a large conference hotel before moving into Technical Sales role, meaning his knowledge of what the company can provide is second to none. When not at work Oliver enjoys a good round of golf and DIY around the house.
Kirsty Waine – Head of Venue Support
Kirsty started her AV career in theatre after completing a degree in Music Technology. Her interest in all the technical aspects of theatre soon meant that she involved herself in creative lighting, sound and projection for a number of productions and events all over the UK and in America. In 2006 she joined the Universal Live team to help develop and run the Venue Support department. Here she focuses on delivering an exceptional level of service,
equipment and staff to all partner
venues, and ensures trusting
relationships are formed
with all accounts.
Marc Allen – Operations Manager, Venue Support
Having a lifelong interest in music, Marc completed a degree in Music Technology at the University of Hull in 2002. He joined Universal Live as a Venue Support AV Manager in 2006 having spent a couple of years as an AV Technician. Within the year Marc had moved up to Head Office to his current role of Operations Manager, coordinating the requirements for kit and crew for the whole Venue Support department. Outside of work Marc
enjoys spending time with his
wife, two boys and his
Patterdale terrier called Buzz.
Mark Ford – Senior Project Manager
Mark’s career in the audio-visual industry started in the middle-east before he joined Universal Live in 2006. He has a wealth of experience across a broad spectrum of live event management and production and has delivered events all over the world for hundreds of companies.
JOIN OUR TEAM
Want to join our fantastic team? Click below to see our most recent job vacancies
View Vacancies