Entrepreneur in Residence, UK Government.
The extent to which Simon has worked simultaneously for both big international corporates and agile new start-ups, is what makes his career unusual.
For five years Simon ran the Business Division of O2 UK, during which the organisation doubled its number of business customers. He then cofounded Wayra Europe, the business accelerator that belongs to Telefonica, The fund he managed invested in 234 fast-growth digital businesses.
In parallel to his corporate career, Simon is a serial entrepreneur. He helped scale-up a portfolio of businesses including: One Water, Zopa.com, The Local Data Company.
Simon now manages a portfolio as Non-Exec for The Student Loans Company and investor in TalentCupboard.com, Yoti.com and Howz.com, as well as being the Entrepreneur in Residence for the UK Government, reporting to Dept BIS.
In 2016 Simon was awarded an OBE for his services in support of entrepreneurship and enterprise.