Dick Simon

Richard (Dick) Simon is a co-founder of the Young Presidents Organization (YPO) Peace Action Network and Chair of the World Presidents Organization (WPO) Presidents Action Network Chapter (PAN). PAN is a network of global business leaders which leverages the unique entrepreneurial talents, experience, access, resources and forum communication tools of YPOers and WPOers (over 21,000 business leaders in 135 countries, owning and/or controlling over $8 trillion in revenues) committed to making a difference in areas of conflict and need. He is currently leading the organization’s evolution from its entrepreneurial grass roots beginnings to a structured enterprise with scale, focus, sustainability and a clear mission (www.pannetwork.org). Mr. Simon is an active member of PAN’s Microcredit, Social Responsibility, Education, American Arab Action and Jewish-Arab-Muslim American Forums, all of which regularly meet with top business leaders, senior policymakers and experts in these fields in order to make maximal, leveraged, sustainable impact, and is also an active member of YPO’s Environment and Helping Disadvantaged Children Networks. He has created and led multiple exchanges and programs with the Guatemala, Israel, Palestine and Jordan YPO Chapters. He has been recognized with the Harvard Business School Making a Difference Award. Mr. Simon regularly speaks to groups in YPO and WPO throughout the world, as well as to leading educational institutions including Harvard University, Tufts Fletcher School and Berklee College. He is the recipient of the YPO 2004 Global Humanitarian Award for his activities with PAN. Along with his PAN co-founders, he received YPO’s New Frontiers Award for creating innovative programs designed to foster peace and understanding in the world while also catalyzing and supporting conflict specific regional Peace Forums around the globe. Mr. Simon was individually recognized with the YPO Best of the Best Innovative Program Award for the Global Video Forum for Understanding and Action, which connected more than 1,000 YPOers in 46 chapters in the largest gathering of YPOers in the organization’s 52-year history. Mr. Simon’s interest in global issues and his desire to make a difference were amplified by a year-long trip around the world, mostly to developing countries, he took with his wife and their three young children in 2000 (www.simonfamily.org). Mr. Simon’s other endeavors include membership in the Clinton Global Initiative and its’ Arab American Action Forum, involvement in microcredit with Accion International, Kiva.org, Unitus and the Microcredit Summit Campaign (as a panelist and participant), in Middle East issues with OneVoice and Seeds of Peace, in education with Harvard Business School (past Chair of the HBS Association of Boston), Media and Technology Charter High (MATCH) School and National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) in health with International Medical Corps and serving on the Board of Project Healthy Children and in the environment with the National Forum on Children and Nature, working directly with US Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne on programs to engage youth in the outdoors and National Parks. Mr. Simon is also passionate about and youth empowerment and issues, and is on the Board of Free the Children, and active with Youth MicroCredit International, Minga and OneChild. Mr. Simon is CEO of RSI, Inc. a Boston - based real estate development and investment management company which has developed over $100 million of office, retail and industrial properties throughout the New England region. Prior to that, he was CEO of a venture backed semiconductor company. He received his MBA from Harvard Business School, and BA with Distinction from Cornell University. He is an ardent photographer and traveler, and lives in Newton, Massachusetts with his wife of 25 years and their 3 children. Mr. Simon can be reached at 617-928-0033 or rsimon@rsiholdings.com.