Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan Weekes.
Megan, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My husband and I both come from humble beginnings. We had big dreams from a very young age and fortunately came into families who were supportive of our dreams.
You’ll see in our bios below that our individual careers have been very busy, but what we’re most proud of is what we have built and are building together. This starts with our family. We have a two-year-old son Princeton who is the absolutely joy of our lives and our marriage is the foundation of our life.
This has also expanded into our business life. When you put ambitious people together, you’re bound to see results happen. We absolutely love our entrepreneurial endeavors together, whether that’s working with our consulting or coaching clients, building our real estate portfolio or doing more media, we are deeply aligned in our values and bring different, but complimentary, skillsets. We feel grateful every day to work together.
What has been amazing as well is that our business has naturally grown in NY and Miami, our two homes. This has allowed us to combine our work lives with the two cities that we love so much.
Our bios are below here:
Megan Weekes
megan@speekes.co
CMO and partner in Speekes, Megan is an accomplished global chief marketing officer with over 17 years of experience in marketing, communications and media. She has worked on virtually every aspect of the business: media, PR, agency, production, creative, strategy and even as talent. Megan is a force to be reckoned with in communications, working with some of the highest profile organizations in the world and consulting with C-suite executives from virtually every industry. She has worked with the likes of MLB, Disney, NHL, Tropicana, Revlon, TD Bank, RBC, Walmart, Rogers Media and many more, and has helped dozens of her clients and agencies set industry records.
She was most recently a Global Chief of Marketing at communications leader Havas (owned by Vivendi) — the fifth largest agency network in the world with over 22,000 employees in 100 countries — where she had previously led reputation as the North American Director of Communications. Megan’s prior seven years were spent directing strategy and as a creative services leader for Rogers Communications, a $26B multimedia company of 28,000 people, which holds some of the most influential assets in North America and hundreds of diverse media and sports outlets (television, print, radio and sports/entertainment).
Coming up through the ranks of creative and production, Megan personally holds hundreds of billions of impressions on her work, having written and produced for the NHL, Disney, MLB, PepsiCO and hundreds more. Megan holds an honors degree in commerce with a specialization in marketing and international business; a certificate in the Business of Media, Entertainment and Sports, as well as Foundational Leadership, from Harvard; is certified in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion from Stellenbosch University; and is trilingual (English, French and Spanish). She has an unprecedented strategic acumen, as well as a profound understanding of how to make a deep impact through her work and in her local communities.
In the cradle of advertising on Madison Avenue, Megan has worked with the best media brands and companies in the world, including Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, Fast Company, Ad Age, Adweek, Sky News, Hearst, The Guardian, iHeart, Spotify and dozens more. Megan has advised CEOs on every communications scenario and crisis imaginable. During her career, she has spoken about gender equity at Cannes Lions, served on action forces with UN Women, served on the board of New York Women in Communications and helped to lead over 200 cultural and social good activations.
Kevin Weekes
kevin@speekes.co
It’s said that “big dreams start small.” Born to parents that emigrated from Barbados to Toronto, Canada, to say that Kevin’s path to a hockey career in the NHL was and is “unconventional” would be an understatement.
When he was four, Kevin would watch his older cousin and friends play street hockey behind their apartment building. At that time, their goalie pads were made of sponge from old sofa cushions, often fastened with duct tape or skate laces. Kevin’s first glove was an empty margarine container. Always drawn to the uniqueness of the cool goalie masks and equipment, he started playing organized hockey in the net at the age of six. In Ms. Maher’s Grade 1 classroom, Kevin drew a picture of himself playing goalie underneath a scoreboard with the NHL logo on it. The rest, as they say, is history.
From the age of eight, Kevin played at the highest level in the world for his age, AAA for the Toronto Red Wings. Kevin went on to play three years of OHL hockey between the Owen Sound Attack and Ottawa 67’s, played in the CHL Top Prospects Game, and was ranked among the Top 20 Prospects and number two goalie in the world. In 1993, Kevin was a 2nd round selection of the Florida Panthers during the NHL Entry Draft. He went on to play in the AHL and IHL minor leagues for three years, before realizing his childhood dream and playing in the NHL for seven teams over 11 seasons, dressing for over 800 games. Kevin is one of the few players to play in a Stanley Cup Final for the Carolina Hurricanes and play for all three metro NYC NHL teams: the NY Islanders, NJ Devils and NY Rangers.
Following his long playing career, Kevin immediately launched his second career in television. In 2009, Kevin became the first Black hockey analyst in 91 years of NHL history. Kevin has been featured on the world’s best platforms, including ESPN, ABC, NBC, MSG, the NHL Network, Hockey Night In Canada, Good Morning America, The Today Show and The View. Kevin has been the lead analyst on the NHL’s own NHL Network for the last 15 seasons, is tapped to announce all of the NHL’s marquee events annually and is on the air more than any sports analyst in major sports in the world. This includes the Stanley Cup Final, NHL All-Star Games, NHL Entry Draft, NHL Draft Lottery, the NHL Outdoor Games and the history-making “Big City Greens” Disney and NHL collaboration as a live-action cartoon version of himself. He was also a part of two nominated specials at this year’s Sports Emmys.
During this time, Kevin has built his business acumen, investing in real estate projects across the metro New York and Miami areas and partnering with brands like Enterprise, SAP, TD Bank, RBC and Little Caesars. Kevin’s latest notable accomplishment is his viral “Breaking News,” which has earned him over 100 million views on social media.
As a trusted voice and longtime ambassador of the game, Kevin has appeared at the White House, Congressional Black Caucus, spoken on Capitol Hill and inspired dozens of other leading companies around the world with his words.
Kevin and Megan are active advocates of social justice, proud parents of their son Princeton and have homes in the New York and Miami areas.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I have never met a person who has built any form of success in any category that has had a completely smooth road. For both of us, the road has been filled with ups and downs. Kevin is a history-making athlete and broadcaster and I worked my way up the ranks of advertising and media often as the only women in the room. It’s hard to break boundaries, It’s hard to leave your family and home to pursue your dreams. It’s hard to be in the public eye. It’s hard to be the “first” anything. But we always say that for us, it’s worth it every day. We have the same mentality that we would rather try everything while we’re alive and learn every lesson possible than wonder. But frankly, if anyone tells you that success is easy, they are probably lying to you.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Speekes helps people, brands and businesses be their best selves. Born and bred from an attitude of constant improvement, our work is dedicated to the betterment of the world around us, the expansion of opportunities and a contribution to the legacy of ourselves and others.
Whether it’s executive counsel, coaching, communications or sports consulting and helping to build brands, our philosophy is that through an attitude of improvement and finesse with soft skills, you can reach the next level.
We have grown individually as powerful communicators and visionaries and together, we bring a unique expertise that is game-changing.
We are most proud of the impact that we’ve made on our clients’ businesses and lives.
Our website is: speekes.co
What’s next?
We are constantly exploring new entrepreneurial ventures and projects. We’ll continue to expand our consulting business, our media footprint and hopefully our family 🙂
Pricing:
- Our executive coaching packages start around $5,000 and can be truly life-changing!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.speekes.co
- Instagram: @speekes.co
