Simon Middleton

Simon Middleton is a branding expert, manufacturing entrepreneur and founder of the Shackleton brand, who was named as one of The Manufacturer magazine's Top 100 Manufacturers in the UK, in recognition of leadership cultural change and innovation.

Simon has also worked as a Brand Ambassador for the 'Made In Britain' organisation and on the advisory board of 'Make It British'.

Simon opened Britain's first banjo factory in more than 60 years and has developed The Shackleton Design & Manufacturing Company, a menswear and lifestyle brand that produces high quality products inspired by the Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, all manufactured in Britain. The Shackleton was launched using a crowd funding campaign on Kickstarter and is one of the top 2% most successful Kickstarter projects since the platform launched. Simon Middleton also successfully raised a further £750,000 in equity funding for the business through angel investment.

Prior to developing his manufacturing company, Simon Middleton was one of the UK's best known independent brand strategy advisers, working with high profile clients including: Aviva, Pret A Manger, British Airways, Etisalat, Volvo Construction, Norfolk Broads National Park, World Vision, Anthony Nolan and many more. Simon Middleton has spoken internationally at corporate events and conferences about branding, marketing, entrepreneurship, innovation and creative thinking.

Simon Middleton has also written numerous business books about personal-development, branding and marketing. His first book ‘Build A Brand in 30 days' was an Amazon No.1 bestseller in its category and described as “invaluable” by Director magazine. His second book ‘What You Need To Know About Marketing' is an essential guide to marketing and his third book ‘Brand New You' was a Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday featured ‘Book of the Week'.

He is also frequently consulted in the media, commentating on brand related topics and has appeared on BBC (Today, Breakfast, BBC News, Newsnight), CNN, Sky and Bloomberg.

Simon Middleton delivers inspiring and motivating keynotes, drawing on his own unique career path but focused on marketing, brand expertise, British manufacturing and the challenge of being an entrepreneur. His speech topics include:

• The weird truth about building brands
• Why brainstorming doesn’t work and what to do instead
• How to be a bad entrepreneur
• How to solve corporate problems using rocket science
• Why creativity matters more than culture

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Clients often ask about purchasing books for giveaways and delegate packs. Below you’ll find a selection of products by Simon Middleton. Click the images to view on Amazon's website. For bulk orders, please speak with your Booking Agent.