About

Simon Mainwaring is an award-winning branding consultant, bestselling author, influential blogger and international speaker. He is the founder of We First, a social branding consultancy committed to helping brands build communities, profit and positive impact. He is a member of the General Mills Digital Advisory Board, the Sustainable Brands Advisory Board, the AdAge Power150, and the Advisory Board of the Center for Public Diplomacy at the USC Annenberg School. He is an Expert Blogger for Fast Company as well as contributing to Forbes, Huffington Post, Mashable, and GOOD Magazine.

Simon’s first book, We First: How brands and consumers use social media to build a better world (June 2011, Palgrave Macmillan) is a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Publisher’s Weekly bestseller. He has been featured in Advertising Age, Adweek, Huffington Post, Inc Magazine, Fast Company, GOOD Magazine, Mashable, Contagious, Public Diplomacy, Corporate Responsibility and CSRwire as well as appearing on the Business News Network, CBS, CBC, BNet and Harpo Radio. Simon is a sought after international speaker with engagements including the Cannes International Advertising Festival, Royal Society of Arts, SXSW, TEDxSF, the National Speakers Association, and brands such as General Motors, MUJI, Gucci, and Patagonia.

Prior to starting We First, Simon was a Nike creative writer at Wieden & Kennedy and worldwide creative director for Motorola at Ogilvy as well as consulting on dozens of Fortune 500 brands and for leading advertising, production, digital and social media firms. He has received over sixty international creative awards at the Cannes Advertising Festival, the One Show (U.S.), the Kelly Awards (U.S) and the British Design & Art Direction Awards, among others.

Simon studied Law and Fine Arts (1st Class Honors) at Sydney University, lives in Los Angeles, blogs at simonmainwaring.com and tweets @simonmainwaring

ON A PERSONAL NOTE:
I studied law and Fine Arts in Australia but opted for advertising simply for the creative freedom. I surf really badly, wish I played my guitar more and couldn’t cook to save my life. I’ve been an artist, lawyer, actor, and writer but love most the agility of thinking that comes from deep diving into different careers and disciplines.

I have two daughters who laugh hardest when I hurt myself, who leave me breathless when they do trapeze, and who fill my days with pride and joy. I have an Egyptian wife, Australian father, Hungarian mother, and American and Australian daughters, so my family is truly a mixed bag.

I still struggle to keep a healthy balance between work and family (damn you real time media!) but shy away from staff jobs so I could spend more time with my kids before they start thinking I’m completely uncool. (Is that 12 or 13?)

I am passionate about using my skills to make the world a better place for my kids and believe that brands and consumers have a big role to play. So far it all been an amazing journey with some hard won lessons and I’m constantly amazed at the number of smart and talented people trying to do meaningful work. Thanks for the support and interest.