Simon became Executive Director of the Syngenta Foundation in 2017.

He joined from TechnoServe, where he had most recently been Senior Vice President, Development, in Washington, D.C.  Simon earlier worked as a management consultant with McKinsey, an economic planner for the Botswana government, and as a development consultant in Southern Africa. He started his career with Barclays Bank plc in the UK, Côte d’Ivoire, and Australia. 

From 2015-2017, Simon was also a Senior Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where he researched into climate risks and sub-Saharan African food and agricultural systems. Simon holds advisory positions with the World Economic Forum and the Private Sector Mechanism for the Committee on World Food Security. He currently chairs the Steering Committee of the Farm to Market Alliance as well as the board of ACRE Africa. 

Simon Winter originates from the UK and holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London.