Simon Collins

BIO

I am the co-founder of Gold Collins a crisis advisory business and have a variety of chair board and advisory roles with UK and international organisations. I was Chairman and Senior Partner of KPMG LLP until 2017. I have over 30 years experience in starting growing acquiring and turning around businesses. I am a Boardroom adviser especially in finance raising structuring and restructuring including crisis. I have advised and run businesses in Europe the US the Middle East and Asia. I am a visionary who challenges the status quo and inspires and develops individuals and teams. I am passionate about and committed to inclusion and responsibility in business. I qualified as a chartered accountant in 1986 at PwC after having studied Economics at the University of Manchester. In the early years of my career I undertook financial services audit and transaction services work. After qualifying I moved into banking at SG Warburg Co where I worked in the fixed income and advisory business and then to NatWest - where I was the Global Head of Debt Structuring and private placements. I joined KPMG in 1998 to establish its Debt Advisory practice. My other roles prior to becoming Chairman in 2012 included Global Head of Transactions and Restructuring and European and Global Head of Corporate Finance. During my career I have seen the world become ever more complex be it through globalisation technological advancement economic strife millennial talent or increased regulation. Amidst this complexity society has lost trust in business as a result of scandals and contempt for consumers. I believe that as leaders we must help restore that trust cultivating responsible businesses and generating long-term sustainable growth. I regularly speak at events and comment in the news on these business critical issues. I am a NED of the Royal Air Force and I chair the RAF100 Appeal. I chair the Catalyst Club Board for Cancer Research UK and the University of Manchester s Global Leadership Board. I am also Chairman of Resilience First. Previous external roles have included membership of the UK Government s Industrial Development Advisory Board the CBI President s Committee the UK-UAE Business Council and the UK-India CEO forum. I have proudly attended UKTI trade missions to improve international corridors.