Simon is an award-winning corporate and public affairs specialist with over 25 years’ experience advising clients on growth, reputation, and risk—particularly in the energy and industrials sectors. He previously spent 10 years in international banking and political campaigning.
He was CEO of Burson UK, where he led the merger of Hill & Knowlton and BCW, and served as Burson’s Global Chair of Energy & Industrials, advising clients across traditional and renewable energy, grids, utilities, mining, manufacturing, agribusiness, aerospace, and defence.
Before that, Simon was UK CEO of Hill & Knowlton, its largest stand-alone office, leading consultants across eight sectors: energy, industrials, financial & professional services, consumer & retail, technology, healthcare, transport, and sports. He also oversaw specialist services spanning corporate affairs, public affairs, sustainability, innovation, data, creativity, and design. Under his leadership, the agency was named Provoke Media’s UK Agency of the Year (2022) and EMEA Agency of the Year (2023), and its Energy team won Petroleum Economist’s Energy Consultancy of the Year.
Earlier, Simon was a Partner at College Hill, leading energy and emerging markets work, and European Director at APCO Worldwide, heading European public affairs and litigation campaigns.
Based today in the UK, Simon spent his early life in Japan and Germany and has also lived and worked in the US and Russia. He holds an MA (Hons) in Classics from Cambridge University and an MBA from Cranfield School of Management.