# Simon Ward

> Simon Ward is the British entrepreneur who founded Inspired Thinking Group in 2009 after a career at SP Group and St Ives. He built ITG around marketing software and production services, handed the CEO role to Andrew Swinand in May 2024, and has subsequently held chair roles including The Boundary, Jungle Creations and Visualsoft.

- **Role:** Founder at Inspired Thinking Group; Chairman at The Boundary
- **Organizations:** Inspired Thinking Group, SP Group, St Ives, The Boundary, Jungle Creations, Visualsoft, Peace One Day
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** St Peters School, Tettenhall, Wolverhampton
- **Known for:** Founded ITG in 2009 and led its international expansion., Won EY Midlands Region Entrepreneur of the Year and the regional Technology award in 2015., Led ITG through successive private equity investments.

## Career timeline

- **1999** — Joined SP Digital as co-founder and head.
- **2000** — Took charge of SP Group.
- **2004** — SP Group sold to St Ives; Ward remained with the group until 2009.
- **2009** — Founded Inspired Thinking Group.
- **2010** — ITG acquired Total Marketing Services with backing from Isis Equity Partners.
- **2014** — Bridgepoint Development Capital invested in ITG.
- **2015** — Won EY Midlands Region Entrepreneur of the Year and regional Technology award.
- **2017** — Equistone acquired the private equity stake in ITG.
- **2022** — Bridgepoint acquired a majority stake in ITG; Equistone reinvested as a minority shareholder.
- **2024** — Moved from ITG CEO to founder, adviser and ambassador as Andrew Swinand became group CEO in May.
- **2025** — Announced as chairman of The Boundary in January.

## Achievements

- Founded ITG in 2009 and led its international expansion.
- Won EY Midlands Region Entrepreneur of the Year and the regional Technology award in 2015.
- Led ITG through successive private equity investments.
- ITG employed more than 1,000 people across the UK, Europe and America by March 2022.

## Latest updates

- **2025-01** — Kester announced his appointment as chairman of The Boundary, also identifying him as chair of Jungle Creations and Visualsoft.
- **2025-01** — As Visualsoft chairman, welcomed Chris Fletcher’s appointment as CEO.
- **2024-07** — Named as an angel investor in Edit Cloud’s £2 million funding round.
- **2024-05** — Handed ITG’s CEO role to Andrew Swinand and moved into a founder and adviser role.
- **2024-03** — Appointed Senior Counsel at Peace One Day.

## Links

- Website: https://www.simonward.eu/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-ward-3a6370b9/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/SimonWardITG

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/simon-ward
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22