# Simon Galbraith

> Simon Galbraith co-founded Redgate Software with school friend Neil Davidson in 1999 and served as CEO for more than two decades. Based in Cambridge, the physics graduate and former Shell petrophysicist remains a Redgate non-executive director and invests through Cade Hill Investments. His public writing explores customer feedback, product management and the practical mechanics of leadership.

- **Role:** Co-founder and non-executive director at Redgate Software; investor through Cade Hill Investments
- **Organizations:** Redgate Software, Cade Hill Investments, Oxford Algorithms, Shell International, Thorn EMI, Cambridge Leaders Academy
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** Charterhouse School, BSc, Maths and Physics, Durham University, PhD, Physics (shock physics), University of Cambridge
- **Known for:** Co-founded Redgate and led its growth from two people in a spare room to about 400 employees at the 2021 CEO handover., Helped establish a worldwide database software business serving more than 200,000 customers at the 2021 handover., Founded Cambridge Leaders Academy.

## Career timeline

- **Before 1994** — Worked at Thorn EMI research laboratories after undergraduate study.
- **After 1997** — Worked as a petrophysicist at Shell International in the Netherlands.
- **1999** — Co-founded Redgate Software with Neil Davidson.
- **2003** — Customer feedback drove a rewrite of SQL Compare following an unsuccessful company brainstorm.
- **2008** — Interviewed as Redgate co-founder and marketing director in The Ring.
- **2009** — Founded Cambridge Leaders Academy; described the SQL Prompt 4 download experiment.
- **2012** — Became sole CEO following the end of the shared CEO arrangement; began experimenting with agile leadership practices.
- **Around 2016** — Redgate Investments spun out with Galbraith as the principal shareholder; it became Cade Hill Investments.
- **2021** — Became sole shareholder of Cade Hill after a liquidity event; in December handed Redgate CEO role to Jakub Lamik and remained on the board.
- **2026** — Redgate announced investment from Bregal Sagemount; Galbraith remains listed as a non-executive director.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Redgate and led its growth from two people in a spare room to about 400 employees at the 2021 CEO handover.
- Helped establish a worldwide database software business serving more than 200,000 customers at the 2021 handover.
- Founded Cambridge Leaders Academy.
- Built an investment practice with substantial, long-duration holdings through Cade Hill.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Steve Jones published a recollection of the founders’ school friendship and noted that Galbraith remains on Redgate’s board.
- **2026-09** — Public reporting documented £500,000 in donations through Cade Hill Investments to Restore Britain.
- **2026-01** — Redgate announced a strategic growth investment from Bregal Sagemount, initially subject to approvals and closing conditions.

## Links

- Website: https://www.cadehill.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-galbraith-7847613/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/galbraithsimon
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simongalbraith12

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/simon-galbraith
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-21