Gary Simon, the founder of one of the largest and most active networking groups for finance professionals in the world, has been recognised as one of the UK’s top 10 leaders in the newly compiled LinkedIn Power Profiles which showcase the most viewed professionals on LinkedIn in the UK during 2015.

Inclusion in the list by the world’s largest business oriented social networking service is recognition of the huge following that Gary has built since creating ‘The FSN Modern Finance Forum’ on LinkedIn, and which now has more than 43,500 members. The Power Profiles were presented in Central London at a ceremony that coincided with the announcement that LinkedIn has reached the milestone of 20 million professional users or approximately 60% of the UK workforce.

Gary joins an elite group which includes David Cameron, Richard Branson, James Caan, CBE from the Dragon’s Den and Bianca Miller, the BBC Apprentice finalist and entrepreneur (picture attached of Gary and Bianca at the Power Profile event) who have all been named as Top 10 LinkedIn Leaders.   A highly regarded influential thought-leader in the financial systems industry and a Fellow of the British Computer Society, Gary is believed to be the only Chartered Accountant to appear in the Top 10.

Known throughout the UK and globally for his pioneering approach to social networking and for his work around “The FSN Modern Finance Forum” on LinkedIn, it is the first group to bring together CFOs and senior finance professionals from around the world to discuss and debate issues affecting the development of the modern finance function. Formerly a partner in Deloitte, Gary is also the CEO of FSN Publishing, has written four books and many whitepapers and through his work as a leading authority on the financial systems market, has become a sought after independent speaker on market developments.

“I feel quite shocked and privileged to be in the company of so many notable industry luminaries, but at the same time I am delighted to have made such a positive impact on the finance profession both here and globally,” Gary comments. “My focus has been on developing a thriving community forum in which our members willingly share and debate issues such as the changing role of the finance professional, the impact of digital technologies and how CFOs can leverage all of this to drive business innovation and act as a catalyst for change.”

No stranger to innovation, Gary has been closely involved with technology for all of his professional life.  “The Modern Finance Forum has become a wonderful platform for crowd-sourcing ideas, establishing our own events and even driving our own research,” he adds.

“It is amazing how finance professionals around the world face the same issues.  It has been a wonderful experience to nurture this group from its earliest beginnings and to establish so many valued friendships”.