Rear Admiral (Ret'd) Simon Williams CB CVO CCMI (Military HR)

Simon has a very wide-ranging operational, planning and policy background from the Royal Navy, Royal Household and central UK MOD posts. He has a wealth of senior experience in MOD and Navy personnel and training policy and delivery, ranging from setting Tri-Service Personnel and Training Policy as an Assistant Chief of Defence Staff in the MOD including the talent management of 1* up to 4* officers in the joint environment working directly to the Chief of Defence Staff and the UK Senior Appointments Committee. He also worked for HM The Queen as her Defence Services Secretary in the Royal Household, managing the link between the Armed Forces and the Royal Family, including medallic recognition policy, while also. In his final post as Naval Secretary and Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (Personnel) he built the latter role to assume most of the people specific responsibilities for the Royal Navy previously held by the Second Sea Lord, manning new aircraft carriers and the F35 while reducing HQ staff. As Flag Officer Reserves he successfully grew numbers and integrated Royal Navy and Royal Marines reservists with regular service as part of a refreshed whole force approach.

A warfare officer with a communications, electronic warfare and intelligence background, Simon has also navigated and latterly commanded a mine clearance vessel, a frigate and a command ship. He has taught at FOST, the multinational sea training team, and served on the UK Netherlands amphibious battlestaff. Ashore in the MOD, he led the future Navy concepts team and produced the Navy Strategic Plan. He has worked extensively in resource programming and capability planning in both Navy and latterly pan-Defence posts. Using civilian management consultancy methodology amongst others, he led one of two teams charged with conducting audits of operational capability in Afghanistan and across Defence, working directly to Ministers and Service Chiefs which led to a wide range of improvements and reforms. He commanded the Royal Navy initial training capability as Commodore Core Training as well as being the Commodore Britannia Royal Naval College where he introduced a new initial navy training package with more fighting skills and greater commonality between the officer and rating skill set. In his Flag roles his wide range of tasks included delivering Baroness Thatcher’s funeral and the UK Armed Forces contribution to D Day 70, as well as a comprehensive medallic recognition review which included a joint presentation by the UK Prime Minister David Cameron and Russia’s President Putin. He led and delivered a root and branch review of staff in Navy Command, reducing senior staff by 300 and generating 600 junior posts for the front line Navy, successfully manning new aircraft carriers and F35 aircraft.

An alumnus of the Windsor Leadership Trust he is a Younger Brother of Trinity House and a Companion of the Chartered Management Institute, building on his Systems and Management degree qualification. He is Chairman of two small naval charities and is the Naval Vice Patron of the Gallantry Medallists League. He was made a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) by The Queen in 2015 following his service in the Royal Household and was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in 2017 in recognition, amongst other career achievements, for his transformation work in Navy Command.