Simon Pearce

Simon Pearce is an acclaimed 30-plus-year marketing veteran. He cut his teeth in brand management at Diageo in the UK before heading to D’Arcy Advertising in London to lead its P&G and M&M Mars European accounts. Simon then moved to Poland in 1993 to serve the expanding brand clients of General Foods, Kraft, Coca-Cola, P&G, and Mars.

Success in an emerging market brought Simon to the US in 1998, where he moved to the client side and became VP of brand advertising for Coca-Cola Brands. His marketing communication strategies, including the “Always Coca-Cola” campaign, drove unprecedented growth for Coca-Cola. He also developed brand-defining platforms for Sprite, Fanta, and Dasani.

In 2003, Simon joined Ogilvy & Mather to become global executive lead for the American Express business, where he collaborated with John Hayes for 10 years. Following a three-year stint overseeing the Hewlett-Packard business at Omnicom, Simon joined McGarry Bowen as CEO in 2015. Charged with revitalizing and repositioning the company, he grew the business by 35% in three years. Simon then joined J. Walter Thompson as North America CEO in 2018, presiding over $300 million in revenue and more than 1,000 staff members across four operating companies.

Simon joined Hayes Enterprises in 2020 to reinitiate a career-defining partnership with John Hayes.