More About Simon Whitehead
Simon Whitehead is Burson’s Global Chair of Energy & Industrials as well as CEO, Burson UK. An award-winning specialist in corporate communications, public affairs, financial PR and litigation communications, Simon has over 30 years of experience advising clients on growth, risk and reputation, and supporting business growth, efficiency and excellence.
Before Burson, Simon was Hill & Knowlton’s UK CEO, the agency’s largest stand-alone office, with consultants working across eight industry sectors and a wide portfolio of specialist services including corporate affairs, public affairs, sustainability, innovation, data and analytics, creativity and design. Under his leadership, H&K was named Provoke Media UK Agency of the Year in 2022 and Provoke Media EMEA Agency of the Year in 2023.
Simon also led H&K’s global Energy & Industrials practice, overseeing clients operating across traditional and new energy, grids, utilities and renewables, industrial manufacturing and construction and industrial materials and mining.
Prior to becoming UK CEO, Simon led Hill & Knowlton’s UK Energy & Industrials team, growing it into the London office’s largest industry sector.
Previously, Simon was a partner at College Hill where he led the Energy and Natural Resources team and co-led the Emerging Markets business across Russia/CIS and Africa. Before that, he was European Director of Emerging Markets for APCO Worldwide.
In his early career, Simon spent eight years in international banking at Deutsche Morgan Grenfell and two years in political campaigning around the 1997 General Election.
Simon holds an MA (Hons) in classics from Cambridge University, an MBA from Cranfield School of Management and a Diploma from the Chartered Institute of Marketing. He has lived and worked in the UK, U.S., Japan, Germany and Russia.
Art Direction by Wynn Burson
Photography by Tina Tyrell