Simon Waters

About Simon

As a Global GM for B2B and B2C business units, Waters has led every facet of an organization, from product development, sales, retail and creative teams, to marketing organizations, supply chain, finance, and HR. He developed a reputation for using the power of brand story-telling to lead major business units to growth for well-known global consumer brands, including Disney and Hasbro. These well-rounded commercial vantage points, coupled with an innate creative approach and digital start-up experience, allow him to apply highly pragmatic approaches to drive growth for mid-sized clients.

How Simon has Helped Businesses Grow

• As a digital start-up founder, Simon led Suitcase Inc as CEO, a disruptive digital brand in travel, leisure & media. He re-branded and re-positioned the media franchise, Red & Black, re-establishing their overall go-to-market plan and content strategy.
• As a turn-around expert, Simon delivered 8 consecutive years of record results for Hasbro Consumer Products and its portfolio of consumer brands, tripling operating profit, doubling revenue, and leading Hasbro from No.12 Global Brand Licensor to No.5.
• As a brand storyteller, Simon led the resurgence of Mickey Mouse and Winnie The Pooh to become two of the largest media franchises of all time.
• As a global leader, Simon scaled Hasbro Consumer Products to 23 offices around the world across 1000+ B2B & B2C partners, including manufacturers and global brands like McDonald's & Nike, building direct relationships with retailers like Walmart & Target.
• As a content developer, Simon partnered with creators, producers & internal brand teams across all media and distribution platforms as GM of Hasbro Studio, and developed the go-to-market consumer products plans for all Disney Channel preschool properties.
• As a new business developer, Simon created revenue-driving divisions, such as Hasbro Location Based Entertainment and Disney Infant, which became a $600m consumer-facing, branded products division.
• As a marketing leader, Simon added 1 million subscribers to the Power Rangers YouTube channel within the first 12 months and re-built the global product line as GM of the $522 million acquisition of Power Rangers.
• As a top-to-top Sales Executive, Simon has led thousands of successful B2B pitch presentations and major keynotes where he has spoken to audiences of over 1000+.

Executive Experience

• CEO, Suitcase Entertainment
• President, World Builder Brand Consultancy
• SVP & Global GM, Brand Management, Hasbro
• SVP & Global GM, Hasbro Consumer Products & Entertainment
• VP Global Brand Management, Disney Consumer Products
• Director, UK Apparel, Disney UK
• Director, Sales & Marketing, Disney Apparel, Europe
• Head Of Sales & Marketing, BMG UK

Education

• Politics, Economics, History, University of Nottingham
• Harvard Business School, Digital Marketing
• Harvard Business School, Strategic Marketing Management
• Dartmouth School of Business, Executive Leadership
• Ashridge School of Business, Master of Negotiation

References

Simon and I worked together at Hasbro for over 10 years during which time we helped transform the company from a traditional toy and game manufacturer to a global branded play and entertainment company that developed, launched and managed several highly successful brand franchises. Simon was the chief architect of our rapidly growing Consumer Products licensing business, and also managed several of our global brands. Simon is a highly creative, passionate and engaging leader who has an excellent understanding of how to build global brands and enduring consumer franchises. Throughout his tenure at Hasbro, Simon demonstrated keen intellect and curiosity, as well as a creative, entrepreneurial spirit. He has the maturity of a seasoned executive combined with a seemingly endless energy and passion for creating new business opportunities. 

John Frascotti, Retired President, Chief Operating Officer & Board Member, Hasbro Inc.

 

I have known Simon for more than twenty years. He is a natural, lateral thinker with strongly developed executive ability and experience. This lateral thinking capacity means he sees opportunity in multiple situations and has a unique skill-set for applying these insights to commercial solutions, with expertise in marketing and branding. His leadership and team management skills are a powerful component of this management expertise. The commercial side of his character is complemented by considerable creative skill, as well as his devotion to coaching and charitable fund raising. I can commend Simon Waters to you without reservation.

Sir Stephen O’Brien, Chairman Barts Health Trust, Chairman Mental Health In Society & President of Proshanti

 

“Simon and I worked closely together at Hasbro for nearly a decade, across the entertainment, franchise, brand and consumer products divisions. As an outstanding leader and partner, Simon’s understanding of consumer behavior, brand building and activation led the divisions we had responsibility for to financial outperformance consistently year over year. As an inspiring creative as well as commercial executive, Simon garnered respect and admiration throughout all divisions of the Organization. Leading by example, Simon’s Team enthusiastically followed him “into battle” to tackle every challenge with gusto, integrity, and with driven purpose at the highest levels of execution. During our tenure at Hasbro, the market cap of the Company grew 3x. Simon was a significant contributor to this impressive growth. Finally, Simon is just an all around, really good guy”. 

Stephen Davis, Former EVP, Chief Content Officer and Global Head of the Entertainment and Licensing Segment, Hasbro Inc. 

Download Simon's Resume Here