Simon Crowe

Simon Crowe knew from an early age that he would run his own consumer-based business, he just didn’t know what. After graduating from BGS in 1990, Simon began his career at pharmaceutical giant Procter & Gamble before landing a senior position at the Foster’s Group as International Brand Manager in North America.

Simon’s frustration with the lack of a decent burger in Australia and passion towards the ‘paddock to plate’ food movement drove him to enter a crowded fast-food category despite the domination by global behemoths like McDonald’s. With a single restaurant and a single idea, that eating burgers isn’t bad, Grill’d was born in Hawthorn in 2004.

Now with 154 restaurants across Australia, in 2019 Grill’d also went global by opening its doors in Seminyak, Bali.

With a keen eye for highly marketable brands and promise to turn the world of chocolate upside down, in 2016 Simon purchased Koko Black, a sophisticated and premium chocolate brand, now with 16 stores nationally.

Simon is widely recognised as one of Australia’s most creative entrepreneurs.