Mark Simmonds

Mark Simmonds is the owner of Genius You, a creativity training agency. He is also the author of Beat Stress At Work. An experienced speaker, Mark can deliver speeches passionately and energetically in front of small or large crowds of people, focusing on workplace mental wellbeing. He draws on his personal experience to connect with his audience. He holds nothing back.

Successfully getting on the highly competitive management training programme offered by Unilever at the age of 25, Mark was delighted with the opportunity and optimistic about the future that lay ahead. However, within a year he was struggling to focus and was incapable of completing even the simplest of tasks. He was experiencing a prolonged panic attack. This was his first ‘little blip’.

Years later, Mark suffered increasing levels of discomfort in his role as a business owner. The extreme anxiety he was experiencing prevented him from functioning at an optimal level. The ‘bad’ stress he was feeling was the result of a mismatch between his more reflective nature as a creative thinker and the fast-paced, quick decision-making job role with constantly looming deadlines he now found himself in. This led to a period of sick leave, depression and a failed attempt on his own life. This was his ‘Big Blip’. Mark documents his personal experiences in his book, "Beat Stress At Work", which has been endorsed by Sir Clive Woodward and Leena Nair the CEO of Chanel. The book is also in part a self-help book for professionals, where Mark utilises his skills as a management trainer to offer no-nonsense, practical advice to his readers.

Drawing on his varied business career working in both large multi-nationals and small agencies, Mark has decided to focus his attention on stress in the workplace. He is equipped to deliver a range of talks and interactive workshops on this topic, both virtually and face to face. Some of his clients have included, Unilever, Philips, Waterstones and the Women Leaders Association.

Motivated by his own experience of workplace stress, Mark Simmonds uses anecdotes, facts, statistics, frameworks and checklists to deliver highly engaging and interactive presentations on this tricky topic. He invites his audience to examine their own mental wellbeing by being completely open and honest about his own. Mark also covers this often difficult and sometimes dark topic with a light touch and a smile on his face!