Simon Reid
Head of Sectors, Growth Platform
Simon Reid is Head of Sectors at Growth Platform – the Liverpool City Region Growth Company. Growth Platform has been set up by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to act as a single body responsible for inward investment, business growth, skills and education initiatives and destination marketing.
After graduating from London Metropolitan University in 1989 Simon returned to Liverpool to deliver Government funded training programs to the long term unemployed before starting a career at engineering and manufacturing recruitment company Kinetic plc in 1993.
For the next 13 years Simon played a pivotal role in the company’s growth which was predicated on delivering on site provision to manufacturers in the automotive, aerospace, pharmaceutical, FMCG and food and drink sectors. Simon held the role of Service Director with a portfolio of OEM and large Tier 1 companies throughout the UK including Airbus, Kimberley Clark, Arla Foods and Ford. Simon set up a new permanent recruitment wing of the business specialising in senior and executive positions in manufacturing before joining rival Beresford Blake Thomas in 2008 to set up their engineering divisions in Manchester and Liverpool.
Simon joined The Mersey Partnership (TMP) in 2010 as an Investor Development Manager working with foreign owned companies in the Liverpool City Region helping them to attract additional investment and internationally mobile projects. Following a stint as SuperPORT manager for TMP Simon then joined Peel Ports as the Commercial Manager for bulk liquid products for the Port of Liverpool and Manchester Ship Canal, account managing international companies like Shell, Cargill, Ineos and Essar. In 2014 Simon joined the LEP to head up Advanced Manufacturing and working with the Making It Board to deliver economic growth in this critical sector before making the transition to Growth Platform in November 2019. Simon was appointed Head of Sectors in November 2020.
Simon was instrumental in devising, developing and implementing “LCR 4.0” a European funded program to deliver Industry 4.0 technologies to 300 SMEs across the Liverpool City Region - www.lcr4.uk and was pivotal in developing the Made Smarter NW Pilot.