Who we are
Lesley Hampson
With over 25 years of experience delivering exceptional events across the UK, Lesley is a seasoned event professional known for her creativity, precision, and calm under pressure. Her career spans the full spectrum of the industry - from intimate awards dinners and residential conferences to large-scale public sporting events and vibrant food festivals.
Lesley began her journey in London’s fast-paced events scene before returning to her native North East to work in a variety of event venues in Newcastle. A pivotal chapter in her career was her five-year tenure at The Prince’s Trust, where she masterminded a variety of high-profile events.
In 2009, she joined the events team at the Chronicle & Journal (Reach plc), producing and managing over a hundred successful events.
In 2024, Lesley took the leap to co-found HOLD Event Management alongside longtime colleague Dawn - combining decades of shared experience to offer strategic, hands-on event delivery.
Dawn Owens
An event manager with over 25 years experience covering sales, marketing, management and the successful delivery of various events including online seminars, conferences, awards dinners and large scale public events.
Dawn started her career at the Sunderland Echo (JPress) having responsibility for the sales and event teams from the Scottish Borders to Hartlepool. After a lot of travelling and bringing up a family, it was time for a change in 2017 when she then embarked on a role within the events team at the Chronicle & Journal (Reach plc) based in Newcastle. After managing way too many events to mention over the years, Dawn has now joined forces with Lesley to start HOLD Event Management in 2024.
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What people say...
Helen Dalby
Audience & Content Director,
Reach North East & Yorkshire
Lesley and Dawn have been responsible for managing the Chronicle, Journal and Gazette's portfolio of events in the North East for many years. As the audience and content director for our brands in the region, I have been lucky enough to work closely with them in the run-up to our events and on the nights for nearly 20 years, and I have always been impressed by the outstanding expertise Lesley and Dawn bring. Events like the North East Business Awards (which has been running for 24 years), Culture Awards and Charity Awards are vitally important to how our news brands interact with the North East's business, cultural and charity communities. Lesley and Dawn have built an excellent, constructive, collaborative, trusted and effective relationship with our editorial teams and with key stakeholders externally, and I can think of no two better people to ensure the continued success of these important events.