Simon Waddington

Simon attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and commissioned into the Corps of Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers.  He has served around the world including in Northern Ireland, Australia, Angola, East Timor, Germany, Rwanda, the Former Republic of Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan and the USA (three times).  Since March 2020 he has been the British Defence Adviser to Pakistan.

A Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, Simon has an MA in International Security & Strategy from King’s College London and an MSc in Defence Technology from Cranfield University.

Simon first encountered Grit as the Commanding Officer of an Army Training Regiment.  He described seeing ‘the transformative effect of Grit’s methodology’ as Army instructors coached young recruits to become proud and confident soldiers.  The Grit programme made an immediate difference to the quality and quantity of soldiers successfully completing Initial Training. 

Grit has made a deep and lasting impact upon Simon’s leadership style and remains a cause close to his heart.