Simon Linares
Simon has extensive international experience in Senior Executive and Non-Executive roles across multiple sectors including Consumer Goods, Telecommunications, Financial Services and a range of Digital businesses. His career has included a combination of commercial, HR and Non-Executive leadership roles.
Throughout his professional career, Simon has been interested in what enables people to perform at their best, and be personally and professionally fulfilled. Working back from a belief that each person is unique, and has the potential to be an even bigger or better version of themselves Simon draws on his extensive experience of working with senior leaders to help clients think through their situation, their potential choices and to build strategies that will enable them to be prepared to achieve their goals.
His most recent Executive position was Group HR Director at Direct Line, a FTSE 100 company where he led the HR, Communications, Public Affairs and CSR strategies for almost six years until April 2020.
In the 20 years prior to Direct Line, Simon headed up Human Resources for O2 across Europe, Telefonica’s global digital businesses and held a number of international HR roles at Diageo, covering different geographies and cultures across the globe.
Simon recently joined the Board of The Nottingham Building Society in 2019 as a Non-Executive Director and member of the Risk and Remuneration committees. Simon is also Chairman of the Charity Dreams Come True, which supports life limited or seriously disabled children and their families to create positive memories. Simon is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development and in 2018 he was ranked amongst the top five most influential HR practitioners in the UK.
Although born in London, Simon is originally of Spanish parentage and therefore bilingual and ‘made from both cultures’. He enjoys family, travelling, socialising and Scuba diving, and ideally anything that combines the four things. He is also passionate about helping children who are in difficulty and after 8 years as a trustee of Kids Out, supporting children in refuge homes he is now Chairman of Dreams Come True Charity, which supports children with life limiting or severely disabling illnesses.
