Simon Mainwaring is a brand futurist, global keynote speaker, columnist, podcaster, and bestselling author of We First and Lead With We. He is the founder and CEO of We First, a strategic brand consultancy dedicated to building brands that prioritise the needs of business, people, and the planet. Under Mainwaring’s leadership, We First has been recognized as a Real Leaders’ Top 100 Impact Company in the US and is a B Corp ‘Best For the World’ Honoree.
Mainwaring’s latest book, Lead With We: The Business Revolution that Will Save Our Future, has garnered significant acclaim, becoming a Wall Street Journal bestseller and a McKinsey Top Business Bestseller on Workplace & Culture. It was also named the #2 Best Business Book of the Year by Forbes and received multiple awards, including the AXIOM Gold Medal in the Leadership category and a nomination for The Next Big Idea. His first book, We First: How Brands and Consumers Use Social Media to Build a Better World, is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller. It has been recognized as an Amazon Top Ten Business Book and one of the Top Sustainability Books of the Decade by Sustainable Brands.
Mainwaring is recognized as a Thinkers360 Top 50 Global Thought Leader and Influencer on Climate Change, a Real Leaders Top 100 Visionary Leader, and has served as interim CMO at TOMS. He has been a jury member for the US One Show for Sustainable Development and the Cannes Lions Festival for the Sustainable Development Goals.
In addition to his speaking engagements, Mainwaring hosts the influential Lead With We podcast and is a prolific columnist for the Forbes.com CMO Network. His insights have been featured in major media outlets, including BBC World News, Bloomberg Beta, CNBC, NPR, and Fast Company.
Mainwaring studied Law and Fine Arts at St Paul’s College, University of Sydney and spent 15 years as a writer, Creative Director, and Worldwide Creative Director at global advertising agencies such as DDB, Saatchi & Saatchi, Ogilvy, Wieden & Kennedy, winning awards at all major festivals.
