Simon Turner OB 1987

Simon is the founder and CEO of Inflexion, a leading private equity firm, which invests in established high growth businesses for a minority or majority stake. He has 30 years’ experience of developing and leading buyouts for growth businesses, having started his private equity career in the early 1990s.

Simon and his Managing Partner, John Hartz, co-founded Daiwa Europe’s Private Equity Group, which they ultimately spun out to form Inflexion. When not working, Simon leads his company’s involvement in The Prince’s Trust, is a trustee of Impetus – The Private Equity Foundation, and chair of The Roundhouse. He has skied to both the North and South Pole as part of the Antarctic Enterprise, raising over one million pounds for charity. Simon is also one of our leadership donors in the BGS 500 Campaign and his contribution is currently supporting 4 Ukrainian refugees through their education at BGS.

You attended BGS at Sixth Form, what are your best memories?

I have so many. Some of them are incredibly personal. Friendships, deep connections. But also, the diversity of experiences, lots of sport, the debating society, plays, tiny class sizes with inspiring teachers who treated you like an adult, which as a consequence inspires you yet further.

What did BGS give you?

BGS was pivotal for me. Coming into a dynamic sixth form environment, I was hugely aware of a different atmosphere and set of possibilities. Fortunately, I was just sentient enough to sense the opportunity to develop and perform, and the school helped me grab that opportunity!

Can you remember any teachers who had an impact on you?

So many! And they shared several common attributes – they were all original and unique. They were all respectful and engaged. They universally inspired but also made you want to strive harder.

What did you do after school?

Well obviously, there were the temptations of a big city, especially beguiling to the newly arrived…! But I really got stuck into all sorts – debates, plays, lots of sport.

What have been the highlights of building your business?

Building Inflexion over, ahem, 20 plus years has been huge fun. The entrepreneurial journey is a really rewarding one, and simple in a sense – you succeed or fail largely due to your own efforts. I’ve always appreciated that simplicity. The challenges and the pleasures change – at this stage it’s very much about the people, the stimulus of bright, hard charging teams, and the challenge of evolving to meet their needs and a fast-moving world.

What’s next for the company?

There’s always much to do! But big priorities for us include continuing to build our international presence, as well as leading the industry’s approach to ESG.

How important is philanthropy to you and your business?

Very. We created a sizable Foundation some years ago which supports an array of terrific charity partners. This is largely focused on young people, but also has a growing environmental focus. The whole organisation really gets involved in helping with decision making, but also working with some of the charities as fundraisers, trustees, coaches and more. It’s super rewarding, but also a cornerstone of the Inflexion culture.

What motivates you?

We live at an extraordinary time, in an extraordinary world. I love the sense of possibility that brings. There are of course many challenges and many blockers, but in a sense, far fewer than at any other time in human history. That’s terrifically exciting. But I’m also fired up about being able to play a small part working on removing some of the blockers for others. That’s a privilege.

How do you relax?

Ah – with great ease! But often in the wild places. I love to get off the grid, I’m sailing a lot at the moment, but also the simple things – a good book!

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Oh, there’s a long ignoble list of errors and omissions and plenty of embarrassment over the years. But I’d probably not avoid most of them – with hindsight! My advice would be – Don’t be frightened, grab your moments, jump in. It works out… generally!