Aaron Simpson (entrepreneur)

Aaron Simpson is a British businessman, entrepreneur and former film producer. He is the co-founder and executive chairman of Quintessentially Group, an international members-only lifestyle management company and concierge group.[3][4] Simpson is also a founding trustee of the Quintessentially Foundation.[5] A former film producer, Simpson has worked with Scala Films, Rocket Pictures and he founded his own company, Flashlight Films.[6]

Aaron Simpson
Aaron Simpson in 2005.
Born (1972-01-06) 6 January 1972
Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England[1]
NationalityEnglish
EducationOxford University
OccupationExecutive Chairman, Quintessentially & Founder, Kindred.co
Years active19
OrganizationQuintessentially.com & Kindred.co
Known forFounding Quintessentially[2]

Early life and education

Simpson was born in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England, the son of teacher and shoe manufacturer.[7] Simpson was educated at Oxford University. He studied geography and achieved a 2:1. He was elected Steward at St Edmund Hall. He founded the Oxford and Cambridge Shakespearian Festivals producing over 300 plays in those university towns.

Career

Early career

Simpson worked in film production as an assistant photocopier for Steven Woolley's Scala Films, the production company behind Interview with the Vampire and the Oscar-winning The Crying Game. After a year with the production company, Simpson was promoted to head of development.[7] Later, Simpson began working as a producer at Elton John's Rocket Pictures before starting his own production company, Flashlight Films.[1][7][8]

Quintessentially

Simpson co-founded Quintessentially Group in 2000 with Ben Elliot and Paul Drummond.[3][9][10] Simpson serves as the group executive chairman. Simpson and Drummond met at Oxford and started the company with Elliot as a small, London-based concierge service.[1][11] Since then, Quintessentially Group has expanded to 78 countries[2] with over 1,500 employees and 33 sister businesses.[12] In 2017, Simpson began work on the "world's biggest superyacht", the Quintessentially One, backed by five billionaire investors. The 722-foot yacht is scheduled to launch in 2019.[13][14]

Other activities

Simpson is involved in various other companies serving as a consultant and board member of businesses such as The Entrepreneurs Exchange, which assists young entrepreneurs develop their ideas and concepts into new ventures. He serves as a Non-Exec Director of HeadBox - an Airbnb for event spaces. He is the Founder of Kindred.co a new marketplace for Brands and Advocates. He is Non- Exec Chairman of Lexihealth - a healthcare company to assist patients navigate the UK healthcare system. He also serves as non-executive director of the Moon Ltd. – 3D Virtual World 365, and non-executive director at Idris Ltd.[15]

In 2014, Simpson started an online investment platform with David Mickler and Lex Deak called Q Ventures, which has raised over £50m in capital for new ventures. [16]

Simpson has invested in other ventures including Velocity, an e-commerce mobile app.[17]

Philanthropy

In 2008, Simpson and other executives of Quintessentially started the Quintessentially Foundation, a charitable organisation operated by a board of trustees. As one of the founding trustees, Simpson has raised donations for various charities around the world through affairs such as auctions and events. The Foundation has raised over £14m for good causes. Simpson has created the platform Kindred.co to specifically raise money for charities via social networks. Its aim is to be one of the most significant donor to charities worldwide. [5]

Personal life

Simpson is married and has two daughters.[18] He and his family live between London and Ibiza, Spain.[1][19]

See also

References
  1. Kahrmann, Alice (2012). "The Brains Behind a Brand; an interview with Aaron Simpson of Quintessentially". The Good Web Guide. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  2. Extreme personal shoppers buying for the mega-rich. Kevin Peachey. 4 December 2015. BBC. 6 January 2016.
  3. Potter, Mark (3 June 2010). "Quintessentially goes upmarket to beat recession". Reuters. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  4. Wilkerson, Becky (6 February 2009). "What it's really like inside Quintessentially". Marketing Magazine. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  5. "Industry Insiders: Aaron Simpson, Quintessential Concierge". BlackBook. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  6. Hutchinson, April (30 March 2017). "Fielding and Simpson Join Ultratravel Line-up". Retrieved 25 April 2017.
  7. Ma, Amy (8 April 2010). "What's Next: Luxury Travel". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  8. Swart, Sharon (17 March 1999). "Euro films aim for commercial touch". Variety. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  9. "Founder and chief executive of global concierge Quintessentially". The Times. 5 September 2007. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  10. Josephine Moulds (6 March 2017). "Fixers to the super-rich can call on a wealth of expertise". The Times. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  11. Tyzack, Anna (20 October 2011). "My perfect weekend: Ben Elliot". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  12. Kassel, Matthew (8 March 2012). "A Personal Concierge Service That Will Do Your Errands—And Book You A Yacht on the French Riviera". Business Insider. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  13. Shruti Tripathi Chopra (13 March 2017). "Meet Aaron Simpson, the man building the world's biggest superyacht for billionaires – and take a peek inside it". City A.M. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  14. Nikki Ekstein (15 March 2017). "How to Get an Invite Onto the World's Biggest Megayacht". Bloomberg Pursuits. Retrieved 24 March 2017.
  15. "Aaron Simpson". Wish. 1 January 2014. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  16. White, Anna (6 May 2014). "Q Ventures club aims to tempt angel investors". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  17. Stagg, James (8 July 2015). "How to make mobile apps pay the bills". The Caterer. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
  18. Will Smale (1 May 2017). "Mr Fixer? The Man Who Can Arrange Anything For You". BBC. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
  19. Maddison, Jacqueline (28 April 2014). "Quintessentially Lifestyle Concierge". Beverly Hills Magazine. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
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