Simon Gimson was appointed as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Interpeace in October 2018. His career has focused on multilateral diplomacy, peacebuilding and organisational management.

Prior to joining Interpeace, Simon was Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer of International Crisis Group, after appointments as Chief of Staff and then Political Director at the Commonwealth Secretariat.

Earlier, Simon was a New Zealand diplomat with postings in Papua New Guinea and France, as Permanent Representative to UNESCO, and in London in The Queen’s private office. He began his career managing aid programmes in Pacific small island states.

Simon has a Bachelor of Arts with Honours in International Relations, Political Science and Public Administration from Victoria University, Wellington. He is a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order.