Simon Walker (sailor)

Simon Walker is an English yachtsman, adventurer and businessman. He is one of only a handful of people who have raced the wrong way around the world more than once.

Simon Walker
Walker sailing past Cape Horn, March 2007
Born	(1968-02-25) 25 February 1968
Occupations	Yachtsman adventurer businessman

Walker raced on board Rhone Poulenc as the mate in the British Steel Challenge in 1992-3, and again as Skipper of Toshiba Wave Warrior in the next edition, the BT Global Challenge 1996-7. He finished 2nd overall and was the youngest skipper in the fleet.[1]

He won the first Teacher's Whisky Round Britain Challenge race in 1995. Outside of racing he has also led sailing expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctica.[2]

He then went on to become the Managing Director of the race organiser Challenge Business and was instrumental in the next two events, the BT Global Challenge 2000/1 and the Global Challenge 2004/5.[1][3][4] During this time he employed the Princess of Wales (then Catherine Middleton) for a summer job prior to her going to University.[5] As managing director, he also oversaw several editions of the Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC), the worlds largest trans-ocean yachting event.[6]

He also served as chief executive of Challenge Business inc based in San Francisco while the business attempted to establish a US based round the world race, the New World Challenge. [7]

He has been an entrepreneur, author and speaker,[8] specialising in leadership and in particular Generation Y. He was a co-founder of the online leadership coaching system, my360plus[9] and the consultancy Talentsmoothie[10][11] and the co-author of Generation Y: what they want from work.[12]

Since 2010 he has been a non-executive director of The Adventurists, organisers of the Kraken Cup Ngalawa race in East Africa.[13]

He is now the managing director of the Paramotor manufacturer, Parajet, and has flown a paramotor from Victoria Falls to Johannesburg in preparation for the Icarus Trophy in 2018.[2]