Simon Holden

Observer
DISC Type : ci

Chief Executive Officer at CityFibre

United Kingdom

Overview

Simon Holden is the Chief Executive Officer of CityFibre, leading its mission to expand the UKs full fibre digital infrastructure. He leverages a background in engineering from Imperial College London and over 25 years of TMT investment banking experience, including as a Partner at Goldman Sachs.

He made the significant career transition from Global Head of Telecoms, Media and Technology at Goldman Sachs to leading a major UK infrastructure challenger.

Personality Overview

Curious

Assertive

Value Driven

They can sound friendly and charming but can quickly change gears to become inquisitive and probing.  They are generally good communicators and can be hard to convince. They often ask many questions and rely heavily on information and documentation.

Topics They Care About

UK Digital Competition
Advocates for a competitive market to prevent a duopoly, believing it drives innovation, lowers prices, and benefits UK consumers and businesses.
Full Fibre Infrastructure
Passionate about building future-proof digital infrastructure to support UK economic growth and provide superior connectivity through a wholesale network.
Wholesale Business Models
Views CityFibre's wholesale-only model as a key differentiator that provides more choice for consumers and ISPs on a single, efficient network.

Media Appearances

CityFibre announces leadership transition: Simon Holden to succeed Greg Mesch as Chief Executive Officer. Featured in CityFibre

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Irrational and anti‑competitive: CityFibre CEO urges CMA scrutiny of NexFibre, Netomnia, VM‑O2 consolidation play. Featured in Telco Titans

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CityFibre appoints Simon Holden as CEO. Featured in Computer Weekly

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Work History

9-2025
Chief Executive Officer at CityFibre
10-2023
Senior Advisor at Keensight Capital
3-2019 - 9-2025
Group Chief Operating Officer at CityFibre
1-2019 - 2-2019
Advisory Director at Goldman Sachs
2-2018 - 12-2018
Vice Chairman Investment Banking EMEA at Goldman Sachs

Education

1986 - 1989
Bachelor of Engineering - BE from Imperial College London
1981 - 1985
Education details unavailable from St Paul's School

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 36 Location : United Kingdom Job Level : Leadership Designation : Chief Executive Officer at CityFibre
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Insights For Selling To Simon

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Focus on immediate action-items rather than the larger goals
  • Help them realize that there is no personal risk in making this decision
  • Build rapport, it will come handy to handle hard questions later

DONT's

  • Don’t rely excessively on your relationship with them to win the deal
  • Don’t try to rush them into a decision, provide all necessary information first
  • Don’t be too objective but make sure to pad your storytelling with data points

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Simon is

  • Clear proof of product value matters to them, followed by others' testimonials and rapport.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Simon

  • They are practical and friendly, don't expect a clear-cut response often.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Simon move?

  • They like to perform full analysis and can take time to make any decision.
  • Can Simon take some risk or not?

  • They systematically evaluate all decisions and are unlikely to take many risks.

You And Simon

Personality Compatibility


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