In conversation with... Simon Neatham

I spent 16 years building a very successful retail business that included multiple outlets as well as a very busy website.

Tell us about your time at the Chamber.

I’ve recently joined the Chamber in a newly created General Manager role. My time has been spent understanding the various aspects of the business with a view to providing strategies and support to the great team we already have here.

What has been your proudest moment?

I spent 16 years building a very successful retail business that included multiple outlets as well as a very busy website.

Do you have a favourite Chamber event?

The Chamber Christmas Lunch was amazing and I’m really looking forward to the great events we have coming up in 2025.

When you are away from the office, what do you enjoy doing?

When I’m not working, you’ll normally find me on my bike. I’m a very keen long-distance cyclist.

If you could have a dinner party with three guests, living or dead, who would you invite?

I’d have to say my family. My two children are now both adults living away from home and having everyone together round the dinner table doesn’t happen often enough.

Tell us about the best holiday you’ve ever had.

I’m fortunate to have had many great cycling trips over the years. In my younger days I also went rock climbing and mountaineering all over the world. If I had to choose one though, it was a two-week family road trip around California in 2017. Amazing scenery visiting several National Parks and it was the last holiday we had together as a family.

And, finally, tell us something people may not know about you.

I’m colour blind!