A Monmouth man and one of Wales’ leading business figures is the first High Sheriff of Gwent to be appointed by King Charles III.

Prof. Simon Gibson, CBE, DL, was appointed the 50th High Sheriff for the County of Gwent at a declaration ceremony held in the International Convention Centre Wales on the 30th March this year. His wife Sue, a qualified Doula who supports women in childbirth, will be the High Sheriff’s Consort during the 2023-2024 Shrieval year.

Simon has been involved in a number of successful businesses and initiatives in Wales for over 30 years and during that time, worked with Welsh telecommunications billionaire Sir Terry Matthews when he was invited to take up the role of head of marketing at Sir Terry’s new venture Newbridge Networks in Chepstow in the 1980s.

He is chairman of the Alacrity Graduate Entrepreneurship Foundation and Chief Executive of Wesley Clover Corporation which has its offices in Newport and has funded more than 150 tech start-up firms.

Before joining Wesley Clover, he was co-founder, President and CEO of Ubiquity Software Corporation, a pioneer in the development of media protocols and service platforms for the internet. Simon is also chairman of a number of technology companies and a non-executive Director of the Celtic Manor Resort. He is a Regent of Harris Manchester College at the University of Oxford and a Professor at the Swansea University School of Management, an Honorary Fellow of Cardiff University and the University of South Wales and a Trustee Director of the British Deer Society and the Newbridge Charitable Foundation.

His CBE in 2018 which followed an OBE in 1999, was in recognition of his services to the Welsh economy.

He has lived with his wife Sue in the Monmouth area for 37 years and they have four children.

New High Sheriffs may choose a particular theme for their Shrieval year, Simon explained his choice for his term.

“I have chosen an online safety and cyber security theme for this Shrieval year. This issue affects us all, damaging lives and increasingly consuming already stretched law enforcement resources”.

“To this aim, I am pleased to launch the High Sheriff of Gwent web platform. highsheriffofgwent.co.uk. As well as accessing facts on the Shrievalty and County of Gwent, the website provides information and tutorials to help increase awareness of online safety. It offers countermeasures to protect our families and businesses from the onslaught of online criminals’ illegal and nefarious activities.”

“I look forward to meeting people across the County of Gwent and highlighting the excellent work being undertaken by so many wonderful people in the voluntary sector,” , said Simon on his appointment.

Simon is also a Deputy Lieutenant of Gwent (DL).

Brigadier Robert Aitken CBE, Lord-Lieutenant of Gwent, attended the declaration ceremony with the Mayor of Newport Martin Kellaway, civic leaders, friends, family and 14 Circuit and District Judges. The Declaration was made to the Honourable Mr Justice Nicholas Francis, Kt, High Court Judge.

A High Sheriff is an unpaid, independent, non-political role that dates-back to Saxon times and is the oldest royal appointment: they support the Crown, the county’s judiciary, magistracy, emergency services and the voluntary sector. The office is the oldest in the country after the Crown and dates back more than 1,000 years.