CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER. INNOVATION AND PRODUCT STRATEGY LEADER. CORPORATE AND BOARD ADVISOR.
Simon started out as a technical consultant advising the largest companies in the world. He succeeded in product innovation, sales and marketing leadership roles before being a Chief of Research advisor for Gartner and a successful C suite executive.
Big Stage Presenter, 40,000+ audience members
Simon learned the art of storytelling working for global brands such as Microsoft and Dell. On stage, via video or podcast he has inspired audiences around the world. He compels leaders to get their teams together and drive immediate change. He helped shape the Gartner CX Summit presentations and stories as a track manager for client events in London, Sydney, and Tokyo.
12 Years in Technical Consulting and Strategy
In his early career he was a UNIX system administrator, engineer and hands-on consultant.
For Siebel Expert Services he worked with senior leadership, and consulted on application design, for the most important companies in the world.
He can talk in developer language to improve product alignment and positioning.
8 Years in Product
Innovation Leadership
As a consultant Simon persued an ambition to be disruptive with application innovation.
He spent years as a product manager and then senior VP of Product Marketing and Management.
He is well versed in the latest innovation strategies and the research to accelerate delivering product to market.
11 Years in Sales and Marketing Leadership
As a Sales and Marketing leader Simon delivered $multi-billion growth through better toolkits and innovative enablement strategies.
He’s an award winning CMO who’s enjoyed success in leading marketing efforts across the world. He is particularly good at driving excitement with a brand.
Simon is an information architect and digital reach specialist.
CMO OF THE YEAR 2021
A CMO will be a master of lead generation, Field Marketing, Channel Marketing, Corporate Comms, Brand and Digital, Influencers and Events as a minimum. But it’s stage presence, video and podcast interview success that really helps create demand.
Real-World Experience and Leadership
Over 30 years experience in technical consulting, product innovation, sales and marketing roles means Simon is a very well rounded executive and senior leader advisor. As a very successful Gartner analyst, who’s helped shape the future of the most important companies in the world, he has written important research defining the future of the software industry. Combined, Simon offers considerable experience as a c suite executive, access to an extraordinary network and real-world practical hands-on guidance on how to achieve business goals.
Gartner Life
Simon was a successful Gartner research analyst, and future of applications Key Initiative (KI) leader, primed to take over as Chief of Research. As KI leader Simon co-ordinated research by hundreds of analysts across 16 agendas including ERP, CRM, CX/EX, Digital Workplace, Procurement, Sales Technology and Blockchain.
He published market-defining research, had daily inquiry calls with c suite clients, vendors and investors. He helped shape the future of companies like Microsoft, Google and Amazon. He was a Magic Quadrant leader and co-author for Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS), Workforce Engagement Mgmt (WEM) and CRM Customer Engagement Mgmt (CEC). In one year, he co-authored 65 research notes across multiple application agendas.
Chief Marketing Officer and C Suite Executive Life
As a Marketing leader, Simon leveraged industry analyst and research engagement to create an essential shift in brand perception. It inspired podcast, social event and on stage live audiences around the world. He’s completely reimagined .com and digital assets to disrupt brand perception, dramatically increase engagement and drive growth for multiple companies.
He’s inspired 8,000+ staff audiences across the world as a regular on all employee broadcasts and led on employee engagement initiatives, round-tables, recognitions and employee resource groups such as LGBTQIA+.
UC Today Interview
Interviewed by UC Today’s David Dungay as part of the UC Trends 2022 series, talking to senior leaders across the UC, Collaboration and CX space. Features background and journey so far, followed by workplace trends, company highlights, UC trends and quick fire questions.
Testimonials
“Simon is a brilliant and gifted leader who crafts and communicates a compelling vision and then organizes and coaches the team to maximize the associated business opportunity.”
Steve Brock, Marketing Strategist, Innovator, Leader
“He brings energy into every room he enters and is always envisioning the next greatest trend that is going to change peoples lives!”
Ginny Davis-Lee, Head of Corp Comms at Avaya
“Simon has an amazing passion and energy for aligning a company’s brand vision and message with its product strategy.”
Dennis Kozak, COO at Ivanti
“Simon is a natural collaborator with a key ability to visualize and articulate innovation in ways everyone can understand. He was instrumental in defining how our customer service research agenda should be shaped, some of which is still foundational three years later.”
Steve Blood, VP Analyst at Gartner
“An excellent visionary that helped unify Avaya’s messaging globally. As a former Gartner analyst and prior to that sales and product leader, Simon has a rare blend of technical, marketing and business development skills.”
Zeus Kerravala, Founder and Principal Analyst at ZK Research
“Simon is a terrific visionary who excels at articulating complex ideas in any medium. His unique technology background, dynamic stage presence, and genuine enthusiasm for evangelizing the brand made him an invaluable asset to the company.”
Jodi Cobb, Marketing Project Manager at Avaya
“Simon is a leader who brings a great depth of industry knowledge and perspective to everything he does. His energy is contagious and he truly knows how to inspire a team. He’s confident, caring and wise.”
Laura Faughtenberry, Global Product Marketing Lead at PMI
“Traits that sum him up – the passion and enthusiasm he injects into everything he does; his industry knowledge and ability to provide a thought leading stance on market shifts; and his human-centered approach to life and work which ensures the needs and wellbeing of everyone he engages with are put before his own allowing them to perform to the best they can be.”
Jim Davies, VP Analyst at Gartner
