Peter Smyth
- Insight-led external affairs strategy
- Stakeholder engagement and buy-in
- Reputation, trust and consent in complex environments
Influencing outcomes across policy, regulation and scrutiny
Edinburgh
Peter is External Affairs Director, working with leaders to cut through complexity and shape clear, effective external strategies. He brings together stakeholder insight, strategic communications and senior-level engagement to help organisations navigate their political and regulatory context, build buy-in and deliver impact when it matters most.
Prior to joining Aspect, he was Director of Public Affairs at strategic communications company, Indigo, advising clients and shaping campaigns across technology, decarbonisation, life sciences, higher education and the third sector.
He holds degrees from the University of St Andrews and the London School of Economics, and specialises in transparent, outcome-driven public affairs strategies.
Behind the bio
Coffee order (no judgement)
Strong hit of DIY home-brew first thing, just a splash of milk. Bliss. Nothing else matters.
Guilty pleasure TV show
Antiques Roadshow. Full of interesting stories well told from nice places. Even my kids (kind of, maybe...if bribed) agree when they stop to pay attention.
Alternate universe career
Mountaineer. I’m sure I’ll never actually free solo a Himalaya but I hugely admire people who do.
Biggest irrational fear
Snakes. St Patrick famously chased them from Ireland where I grew up, so irrational is the word. Terrifying.
Insights from Peter
Read the latest insights and articles from Peter.
Scotland’s decarbonisation cluster has a new momentum behind it. The project aims to be competitive and investable with a genuine value proposition.
Based on in-depth interviews with policymakers across Westminster, Holyrood and local government, Aspect’s new research paper, From Ambition to Alignment, explores why political confidence, infrastructure readiness and public consent are now central to delivering Scotland’s energy transition.