Simon has worked in academic publishing and librarianship for 30 years. His previous editorial roles were at Routledge, Oxford University Press and HarperCollins. For eight years he was Head of Partnerships and Licensing at the British Library where he initiated major digital database projects including the British Newspaper Archive, India Office Records and Trench Journals. He has worked with Wiley for 4 years and has overseen work on the Royal Geographical Society (with IBG) database, initiated the British Association for the Advancement of Science (Collections on the History of Science 1830-1970) and Environmental Science and History.