Speakers

Simon Johns was educated at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, is a graduate of the UK Advanced Command and Staff Course, and has a Master of Arts in International Relations and Defence Studies. He has served as an Infantry Officer with both the British and Australian Armies around the world, in a wide range of appointments, and in command on operations in Northern Ireland and the Middle East. Simon has extensive experience on the equipment procurement staff across a range of capabilities, in procurement strategy and programme management roles. He led the Program Management Office for the UK Defence Information Infrastructure modernisation programme in the early 2000s and later took responsibility for the Australian Infantry modernisation programs in Melbourne before leaving the Service in 2013. Simon has worked for Lockheed Martin (UK) and joined Embraer in 2017 where he led Embraer’s Business Development and Sales activities in Europe and Africa with a particular focus on bringing the C-390 Multi-Mission Tactical Airlifter to new customers. In 2024 Simon became Head of Global Sales for AALTO’s government business. AALTO, an Airbus subsidiary, is the world leader in heavier-than-air High Altitude Platform Systems (HAPS) that provide solar-powered persistent C4ISR services from the stratosphere.