Gavin Simpson ACMA CGMA is an award-winning chartered management accountant, advising high-profile boards such as Jaguar Land Rover and Travis Perkins. Using his real-world experience and his life-changing late diagnosis of autism at the age of 44, Gavin now shares his expertise on harnessing neurodiverse talent, driving innovation, and navigating both in an increasingly AI-focused world.
Leaving school with no qualifications, Gavin worked in factories, in tyre fitting bays, and spent nearly a decade driving bin lorries. In 2003, he became a branch manager for National Tyres and Autocare, turning around the demotivating environment so successfully that he was awarded Manager of the Year for the East Midlands Region. This was just the beginning of what would be a transformative career. In 2013, Gavin moved from a truck driver to a senior traffic dispatcher at Biffa, where he took part in the company’s Employee Development Programme, giving him an insight into the intricacies of business and enabling him to recognise his analytical skills. In 2015, he joined Travis Perkins as a Customer Service Expert, quickly moving to the role of Branch Stock Manager, going on to become a Stock Improvement Manager. Gavin continued to move up through the ranks to become a Commercial Finance Analyst as well as a voluntary diversity and inclusion advisory board member, before taking up his final position at Travis Perkins as a Financial Data Analyst, helping to implement Oracle. Following his exit from Travis Perkins, Gavin served as a Management Accountant for Antylia Scientific before working as a Finance Business Partner at Jaguar Land Rover, leading financial transformation and performance improvement initiatives across the company. In 2025, he founded Neuvantage, a business services company where he looks to help organisations fix broken systems and assist in their financial strategies.
Alongside his inspirational career journey, Gavin is a charity trustee for NeuroAI.Help as well as a member of the RISE 2040 Advisory Panel for CIMA. In 2024, he was voted CIMA Student of the Year, a testament to his aptitude in management and leadership. Gavin is also a TEDx speaker, delivering the talk ‘Outliers – The Power of the Neurodivergent Mind’, where he discussed why the industrial model of education is failing in the AI revolution and how companies can leverage neurodiverse thinking. Gavin is the author of 'Binman to Boardroom', a raw exploration of Gavin's highs and lows in breaking the moulds of a system not built for him to succeed.
Having been written off from education, Gavin’s story is one of using his unlocked potential to change his reality. As the creator of ‘Binman to Boardroom’, Gavin shares his journey of grit and determination, from understanding that he wasn’t the failure his youth made him believe he was, but that he, and millions of other people, operate in different systems outside of the one our day-to-day lives have been built around since the Industrial Revolution.
Books
Binman To Boardroom: A Journey of Grit, Neurodiversity, and Smashing the Class Ceiling
Gavin Simpson's official speaking topics are listed below:
Binman to Boardroom: Navigating the Class Ceiling and Building True Resilience
Overview: Gavin’s flagship keynote. He shares his unconventional journey from driving a bin lorry for nine years to advising executives at Jaguar Land Rover and Travis Perkins. This session provides actionable insights on social mobility, overcoming adversity, and why non-traditional backgrounds are a massive, untapped asset for corporate problem-solving.
The ROI of Neurodiversity: Turning 'Outlier Intelligence' into Bottom-Line Profit
Overview: Moving past standard corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, Gavin proves the commercial value of cognitive diversity. Drawing on his late autism diagnosis and his track record of delivering £11m in corporate savings, he shows leaders how to harness neurodivergent talent to boost team productivity by up to 30% and drive measurable financial returns.
Stemming Groupthink: Why Cognitive Diversity is Your Greatest Commercial Asset
Overview: In a V.U.C.A. (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, Ambiguity) world, doing things the way they have always been done is a massive commercial risk. This talk challenges leadership teams to dismantle echo chambers and embrace "Outlier Intelligence" to foster genuine innovation and disruption.
Beyond the Industrial Model: Rethinking Talent in the Age of AI
Overview: Expanding on his recent TEDx talk, Gavin explores why the rigid, traditional "Industrial Model" of education and talent management is actively failing businesses during the AI revolution. He provides a roadmap for future-proofing organisations by hiring and supporting people who naturally think differently.
Official Feedback from In-Person & Virtual Events
“Gavin recently joined our men’s development programme as a guest speaker and he was a total breath of fresh air... creating one of those rare moments where you could feel the whole room hanging on his every word. What really sets Gavin apart is that he doesn’t repeat the usual “just work harder” message. Yes, it's plain to see that he's worked hard, but that's not the heart of his message. It's about finding spaces where you belong, where who you are is seen as an asset rather than a problem to fix. His style is candid, down-to-earth, and at times very funny. He’s a natural storyteller with that rare ability to inspire without ever sounding preachy or overly rehearsed. We can't wait to have him back!" - Kirsty, ED&I Training Programme Manager, Springboard Consultancy
"Gavin’s talk was the highlight of our conference. He didn't just tell a story; he changed the way our leadership team views talent." — Senior Director, Jaguar Land Rover
- 2026 – Member of the RISE 2040 Advisory Panel, CIMA
- 2025 – Charity Trustee, NeuroAI.Help
- 2025 – Fractional FD & Operational Profit Architect, Neuvantage Business Services Limited
- 2024 – Finance Business Partner, JLR
- 2023 – Management Accountant EMEA, Antylia Scientific
- 2023 – Volunteer, Finance, Neurodiversity in Business
- 2022 – Finance Data Analyst, Oracle Implementation, Travis Perkins
- 2021 – Diversity & Inclusion Advisory Board Member, Travis Perkins
- 2021 – Commercial Finance Analyst, Travis Perkins
- 2020 - Finance Analyst – Digital and Supply Chain, Travis Perkins
- 2019 - Supply Chain Development Analyst, Travis Perkins
- 2016 – Stock Improvement Manager, Travis Perkins
- 2015 – Branch Stock Manager, Travis Perkins
- 2015 – Customer Service Expert, Travis Perkins
- 2013 – Senior Traffic Dispatcher, Biffa
- 2005 – Truck Driver, Biffa
- 2003 – Manager of the Year for the East Midlands Region
- 2003 – Branch Manager, National Tyres and Autocare
How to hire Gavin Simpson
Contact the Champions Speakers Agency to provisionally enquire about hiring Gavin Simpson for your next event, today. To get in touch, simply call an official booking agent on 0207 1010 553 or email us at [email protected] for more information.
** We do NOT accept requests for autographs, signed merchandise, fan mail, birthday messages or any other non-commercial contact with the speakers or acts. Each speaker on the website may not have necessarily worked with Champions in the past but are known to perform such engagements within the industry.
