Simon Waddington

Simon attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and commissioned into the Corps of Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers.  He served for 35 years around the world including in Northern Ireland, Australia, Angola, East Timor, Germany, Rwanda, the Former Republic of Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan and the USA (three times). His final appointment was as the British Defence Adviser to Pakistan.

Since 2024 he has been the Strategic Development Officer at AMS Global Solutions,  guiding the company strategically and rapidly growing the business from a small to medium enterprise.  He is also a strategic advisor at the department of Business & Trade.

He attended the Royal College of Defence Studies Strategic Leadership program in 2017-18.  He is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.  Simon has an MA in International Security & Strategy from King’s College London and an MSc in Defence Technology from Cranfield University.  

Simon first encountered Grit as the Commanding Officer of the Army Training Regiment in Bassingbourn.  He described seeing ‘the transformative effect of Grit’s methodology’ as Army instructors coached & mentored young recruits to become confident soldiers imbued with the values of the British Army. 

Grit has made a deep and lasting impact upon Simon’s leadership style and remains a cause close to his heart.