Simon graduated as a veterinary surgeon from the University of Glasgow in 2000, after which he worked for five years in mixed (predominantly farm animal and equine) practice in West Stirlingshire, Scotland, and in North Down, Northern Ireland. He was instrumental in setting up Veterinary Northern Ireland (VetNI) as a ‘one-stop shop’ for the local veterinary associations in Northern Ireland.

In 2007, Simon was appointed as a Veterinary Research Officer at the Veterinary Sciences Division of the Agri-Food & Biosciences Institute (AFBI) in Stormont, Belfast, Simon returned to the private sector in 2014, and in 2015 he registered Blackwater Consultancy Ltd, which works with companies to drive inward investment and support export trade in the animal health and aquaculture sector on behalf of Dept of International Trade.

Simon returned to the private sector in 2014, and in 2015 he registered Blackwater Consultancy Ltd, which works with companies to drive inward investment and support export trade in the animal health and aquaculture sector on behalf of DIT.

Simon was President of the North of Ireland Veterinary Association and of the Northern Ireland Branch of BVA from 2015-2016. He is a member of the UK Board of livestock development charity, Send a Cow, and a trustee of the Animal Welfare Foundation and is junior vice president of BVA