Simon is a Global Thought Leader, Bestselling Author, and Keynote Speaker
Simon Mainwaring is a brand futurist, global keynote speaker, columnist, podcaster, and bestselling author of We First & Lead With We: He is the founder and CEO of We First, a strategic brand consultancy specializing in accelerating growth & impact of future-facing, purpose-driven brands.
His latest book, Lead With We: The Business Revolution that Will Save Our Future is a Wall Street Journal bestseller. It was voted McKinsey Top Business Bestseller on Workplace & Culture; #2 Best Business Book of the Year by Forbes; an AXIOM Gold Medalist in the Leadership category; Official Nominee for The Next Big Idea; and a finalist for the International Business Book of the Year.
Simon’s first book, We First was a New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Amazon bestseller and named Best Marketing Book of the Year by strategy+business. It was named an Amazon Top Ten Business Book, 800CEORead Top Five Marketing Book, and Sustainable Brands listed We First as one of their Top Sustainability Books of the decade. It has been translated into Russian, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Korean. Simon also writes the influential “Purpose At Work” blog in Forbes. His new book Lead With We launches November 9, 2021.
Simon was a Real Leaders Top 50 Keynote Speakers in the World in 2020, voted a Top 5 Marketing Speaker by speaking.com for five years in a row, and on the cover of the National Speaker’s Magazine (US). He’s been featured in BBC World News, The Economist, The Guardian, Advertising Age, Inc., AMA, Fast Company, and Forbes, among others.
His previous book, We First: How Brands and Consumers Use Social Media to Build a Better World is a New York Times- & Wall Street Journal bestseller. It was named an Amazon Top Ten Business Book; 800CEORead Top Five Marketing Book; Best Business Marketing Book of the Year by strategy+business; & one of the Top Sustainability Books of the decade by Sustainable Brands.
Simon hosts the “Lead With We” podcast in which he dives deep with business leaders about how brands survive crises, thrive in fast-changing markets, and drive growth through a challenging future. He also writes a column for Forbes.com as a longtime contributor to its CMO Network.
Simon was ranked among Real Leaders magazine’s “Top 50 Keynote Speakers in the World,” was voted a “Top 5 Marketing Speaker” by speaking.com, and featured on the cover of the National Speaker’s Magazine.
Simon’s been a Jury Member for the One Show for Sustainable Development and Jury Member at the Cannes Lions Festival for the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as a Featured Expert Speaker. He was ranked by Real Leaders magazine as a Top 100 Visionary Leader, a Momentum Top 100 Impact CEO, and his company, We First, was a Real Leaders’ Top 100 Impact Companies in the U.S. and B Corp ‘Best For The World’ honoree.
Simon acted as interim CMO at TOMS in 2015. In that same year, he was a finalist for Global Australian of the Year.
Recent Recognition
2023
Real Leaders 100 Visionary Leaders
We First B-Corp Certification
2022
One Show Jury Member For Sustainable Development
Momentum Top 100 Impact CEO
Real
Leaders Top 200 Impact Companies
Axiom
Gold Medialist For Leadership
McKinsey &
Co. Top Business Bestseller
‘Workplace-Culture’
2021
Cannes Jury Member Sustainable
Developement Goals 
Real
Leaders Top Impact Companies
Lead With We
Book Launch 
Wall
Street Journal Bestseller
#2 Forbes
Business Book of 2021
Next Big idea
Nominee
2020
Real Leaders Top 50 Keynote
Speakers in the World
Jury Member of
PRWeek’s Purpose Awards
Member,
Forbes Business Council
Moderator,
Harvard Business School Association of Boston
‘Brands With A Purpose’
Series
Host, ‘Lead
With We’ podcast
2019
Real Leaders list for the Top
100 Impact Companies in US
B Corp
Best For The World Honoree
Top 10
Global Brand Guru
Speaker, Global
Goals House, Cannes Advertising Festival
2018
Forbes/LinkedIn’s list of
Social Influencers impacting The World’s Most
Influential CMOs
Voted Top 30 Global
Brand Gurus
Voted Top 5 Marketing
Speaker by Speaking.com
We First
Named Top Sustainability Book by Sustainable
Brands
2017
Photo: CEO Training on Necker Island with Sir Richard Branson
Finalist for the Conscious
Company Leadership Awards
Named
Richtopia’s Top 200 Philanthropists and Social
Entrepreneurs
Speaker at Necker
Island for Sir Richard Branson
Voted
Top 30 Global Brand Gurus
Voted Top 5
Marketing Speaker by speaking.com
2016
Photo: Receiving MAKE CHANGE Award from Conscious Capitalism
MAKE CHANGE Conscious
Leadership Award
Named United Nations
Foundation’s Global Influencers to
Follow
Voted Top 30 Global Brand
Gurus
Voted Top 5 Marketing Speaker
by speaking.com
2015
Photo: With TOMS founder Blake Mycoskie while Interim CMO at TOMS
Finalist for Advance Global
Australian of the Year
Voted
Statsocial’s 2015 Top 100 Social Media Power
Influencers
Voted Top 5 Marketing
Speaker by speaking.com
Interim CMO
at TOMS
2014
Photo: Hosting Annual WF Summit
Cover of National Speakers
magazine
Voted GlobalCEO’s Top CSR
Leaders
Voted Top 5 Marketing Speaker
by speaking.com
2013
Photo: Leading Discussion with President Obama’s Special Representative to Muslim Communities
Voted The Guardian’s 30 Most
Influential Sustainability Voices in
America
Voted SustMeme’s CSR Top 500
Influencers
Voted Top 5 Marketing
Speaker by speaking.com
2012
Voted Trust Across America’s
Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business
Behavior
Voted Top 5 Marketing
Speaker by speaking.com
We
First book translated into Russian,
Chinese, Taiwanese and Korean
2011
Named to Ad Age Power
150
We First book a New York
Times Bestseller
We First
book a Wall Street Journal
Bestseller
We First book an
Amazon Bestseller
We First
book a 1800CEOREAD Bestseller
We
First named Best Marketing Book of the
Year by strategy+business
Over 60 international
advertising awards at all major festivals
including
Cannes Lions, One Show,
British Design & Art Direction, Clio’s,
Kelly and AWARD
