Ralph Simon,

FRSA The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

, is a business executive, first in the music industry, and now in the

mobile entertainment Mobile entertainment comprises a range of activities associated with mobile electronics. The definition is both somewhat subjective and in continual development, but can include purely leisure activities (music, playing games), communications (so ...

industry.

Early life

He was raised in

Johannesburg, South Africa Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

where he went to the

University of the Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The universit ...

, and left South Africa in 1975 and settled in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In 1990 he relocated to

San Francisco, California San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

and then in 1993 relocated to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

where he lived for over a decade.

Career

Simon co-founded the independent Zomba Group of music companies (now a subsidiary of

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

) with

Clive Calder Clive Ian Calder (born 13 December 1946) is a South African-British billionaire record executive and businessman primarily known for co-founding the Zomba Group with Ralph Simon, and its subsidiary Jive Records. As of October 2021, Calder has ...

in the 1970s growing it over two decades to become the leading independent record label, music publishing company and producer management company of its era. Zomba's record label, Jive Records signed the American musical artists

the Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson (musician), Kevin Richardson. The band formed in 1993 in Orlando, Flori ...

NSYNC NSYNC ( ; also stylized as *NSYNC or N Sync) was an American vocal group and pop boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. The group consists of Kirkpatrick, JC Chasez, ...

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

and

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

. In the mid-1990s, he was executive vice president of

Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...

and

Blue Note Records Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by History of the Jews in Germany, German-Jewish emigrants Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it deriv ...

in Hollywood and started

EMI Music EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), c ...

's global New Media division. He started Yourmobile (later renamed Moviso), the first

ring tone (The) Ring(s) may refer to: * Ring (jewellery), a round band, usually made of metal, worn as ornamental jewelry * To make a sound with a bell, and the sound made by a bell Arts, entertainment, and media Film and TV * ''The Ring'' (franchise), a ...

company in the Americas, Europe, UK, Australia and Africa, in 1997. In 2001, Simon co-founded YourMobile Group with Anthony Stonefield, Hilton Rosenthal Shane Dewing and Cliff Brigden. Simon is the founder and chief executive of Mobilium Global Ltd (based in

, England, Los Angeles, Mumbai, with associate offices in Helsinki, Finland. In 2013, he was appointed Global Ambassador for the

CTIA – The Wireless Association CTIA is a trade association representing the wireless communications industry in the United States. The association was established in 1984 and is headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit membership organization, and repre ...

. CTIA is the

Washington, DC Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and Federal district of the United States, federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from ...

–based wireless

trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific Industry (economics), industry. Through collabor ...

driving wireless device certification, policy and all aspects of the wireless and mobile industry innovation and development. He has also been a regular speaker and moderator in the United States and Canada, officiating since 2008 at the annual Canadian Music Week conferences and also the Milken Global Conference in Los Angeles, Musexpo in Los Angeles and Start Up in New Orleans. He is on the board of

Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Hungama Digital Media is an Indian digital entertainment company, headquartered in Mumbai, India. The company was first launched in 1999 by Ashish Kacholia, Hiren Ved, Lashit Sanghvi, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, and Neeraj Roy as an online promotio ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simon, Ralph Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Businesspeople in telecommunications University of the Witwatersrand alumni Businesspeople from Johannesburg Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts