2023 Global Leaders in Consulting: Simon Howard

Simon is currently the Chief Operating Officer for Deloitte's Global Financial Advisory business (GFA). This encompasses all facets of M&A, forensic services, infrastructure advisory, economics. GFA advises companies in their most important moments. Although Simon's role is Global, he has been based in Spain for 17 years and prior to that spent time working in Chile, South America. Simon's work in Spain has involved advising global Private Equity houses in their potential investments across a number of industries. As COO of GFA, Simon has pioneered several enterprisewide transformation initiatives including GFA's Hypergrowth Strategy, an ambitious plan to hire the very best talent in the market. This has led to a large number of new client opportunities and ultimately revenue growth of over 20%. A key part of this strategy was developing Deloitte's End to End M&A business whereby advice is provided to clients before they embark on a transaction and Deloitte's teams stay with them long after the Sales & Purchase contract has been signed to ensure maximum return on clients' investments and a smooth post integration environment.

What do you consider your greatest personal or professional achievement?

Working in foreign environments is challenging and I have spent the last 23 years working outside of my home country building relationships with colleagues and clients. The initial difficulty was learning Spanish and then adapting it to a business context. The cultural aspect can also be demanding and needs a certain degree of adaptability and flexibility. I now feel more than comfortable both working in Spanish and living and working in Spanish and Latin American environments.

What advice would you give a professional just beginning a career in consulting?

I would advise people to always work at and maintain relationships. It can be hard work to build a network of contacts but it is very rewarding. Listening to others and understanding their issues is as important as finding a solution to their needs.

What have you loved most about your consulting career?

The fact that no two projects are ever the same. I have been fortunate to work in different geographies and also in a variety of industries. I feel as though I have been constantly learning and facing new challenges which means that my career has been immensely rewarding.

What's the best advice—personal or professional—you've ever received

When I worked in Chile, my mentor told me that every single person will have setbacks at work and in life. He told me not to be too hard on myself during those times, and he helped me to learn from those experiences, work hard, and have the right attitude to keep going.

What does being honored as a Global Leader mean to you?

Being recognized as a Global Leader in Consulting would be a reward for all of the teams that have worked so hard to make Deloitte's FA business a success both in the way that we serve our clients but also in making FA such a wonderful place to work.