THE MEN AT THE TOP:


SIMON DIXON S


imon was born and brought up Surrey, in 1944 to be exact and


following success in his Common Entrance exams, went to Bradfield College. At Bradfield, Simon recalls being rather skilled at Art and the more practical subjects as well as Science and Mathematics, but when offered a prestigious Leverhulme Scholarship to the Byam Shaw College of Art in Kensington, at the age of 17, he decided to take it and leave 'A' levels for another day! After a year, he decided that whilst


Masonic Career


1980 Initiated inOld BradfieldLodge 3549 ("OBL"), aged 36


1989 Exalted into Public Schools Chapter No. 2211 ("PSC")


1986 WM of OBL (and again in 1991, 2010 and 2011)


1995 LGR 2003-5 Active MetADC 2005-6 Active MetDC 2005 SLGR 2007 PAGDC 2008 LGCR 2009 SLGCR 2009 Metropolitan Grand Inspector and promoted to PSGD and PAGSoj


2010 Promoted PGSoj


Simon is in three other Craft Lodges, is a member of Chapter No. 46 and an honorary member of 2 Mark and RAM London Lodges as well as being a senior member of 5 other orders!


26


he was enjoying the freedoms of Art School, the fine Art course he was studying was not quite right for him, so he moved to St. Martins' College of Art to study Commercial Design instead. Despite understanding and being


"a creative", it seemed to Simon that the challenge of being an Account Executive would suit him better, so with his Diploma finished, he joined Collett Dickenson Pearce, a renowned 60’s advertising agency, taking over from the young David Puttnam, who brethren may recognise as having gone on to find other creative outlets. One of his first jobs was promoting the Hamlet cigar campaign, which brethren of a certain age will remember as having birthed a whole series of amusing and sophisticated advertisements under the slogan "Happiness is a cigar called Hamlet" set to the famous "Air on a G String". Talking of famous names, it should also be mentioned that over his thirteen years in consumer advertising, Simon worked with Alan Parker as well as the creative genius Charles Saatchi. In 1978, seeing that the nascent


corporate communications field was growing, he moved to Charles Barker City where he covered the whole gamut of external communications and PR and, perhaps more importantly, was involved in assisting companies in defending themselves against corporate takeovers. For example when Lord


Hanson's company, Hanson Plc,made an offer to the shareholders for the London Brick Company, it was Simon's team that showed the market that Hanson was significantly undervaluing the company and, over the long takeover period, managed to sharply increase the price paid to shareholders. Similarly, when Berisford made their first bid for British Sugar, they were defeated and it was only when the British Government decided to take advantage of the buoyant market to sell their own shareholding that Berisford were able to come back. Again, only at the cost of a substantial premium to the original price offered. In 1994, Simon moved to ZZip


Advertising a smaller, struggling agency and with the benefit of a lifetime's experience in the industry was able to turn the company's fortunes around sufficiently that it became the largest trade advertising agency in the UK handling clients such as Cadbury, Britvic etc. In a position to do so, he waived his bonuses, taking equity instead, so that by 1997 he owned 25% of the company. Seeing an opportunity to change things in line with his own views, he bought the remaining 75% phased over three years. One client however, wanted Simon to continue to look after his marketing and advertising, so he set up a small consultancy working from home. This permitted him to gradually introduce his wife to the idea of


W Bro. Simon Dixon around the time of his Initiation into Freemasonry.


ISSUE 13


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