Simon has a long and very successful career to date in venue sales – starting off booking restaurants at Goodwood racecourse during the well renowned Glorious Goodwood horse racing festival in the UK in order to get him in the industry he loved, he went on to build a career and name for himself over 25 years in the UK with roles for Sandown & Epsom racecourses, Reading Football Club, The International Centre in Telford and Wembley (London) Limited.

In 2012 Simon and his family emigrated to New Zealand where after a short stint in Taupo he moved to Auckland and started as a Business Development manager on a 12-month fixed term contract at The Trusts Arena. 14 years later he left his role having turned the business from a $350k per year business to a $4M per year business, taking catering in house and overhauling the ticketing side of the business and launching an outdoor festival and concert offering for the venue securing an enormous amount of business from the likes of TEG, Live Nation, Trademark Live, Endeavour Live, DUCO and Audiology in securing events with for the likes of Post Malone, the XX, Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Rufus Du Sol, The Prodigy, Eden Fest, Golden Lights, Souled Out and FOMO amongst many festivals and concerts, showing an insatiable (and sometimes annoying!) drive for securing events from the unusual like wrestling and indoor gridiron to being the person responsible for bringing the PDC and the World Series of Darts to New Zaland. Whether it was trade shows, large scale dinners, sport, concerts or even circuses in the car park Simon never stopped!

Simon also boasts great relationships with New Zealand Rugby and New Zealand Football, having helped with the 2022 Women’s Rugby World Cup and the FIFA Women’s Football World Cup in 2023.

Having left New Zealand and working remotely for the Trusts Arena for two years in 2023 we are delighted that Simon has joined Events Central at Caribbean Park as Head of Event Acquisition where he will bring his drive, determination, professionalism and industry knowledge – (and sense of humour!) and is sure to drive the business here to new heights – I hope we can keep up with him!