Simon Chelton is Managing Director of Cheltons Consulting Ltd, a consultancy that has been working since 2012 with UK and Japanese defence companies to help develop collaborative opportunities between the two countries, under the auspices of new government agreements. He visits Japan several times a year and works closely with Japanese government and industry.
Simon spent over 30 years in the Royal Navy as a Logistics Officer in ships and submarines, and served three times in Japan, including attending the National Institute for Defence Studies in 1994/5 and serving in the UK Embassy in Tokyo as Defence Attaché between 2003 and 2007.
On leaving the Navy in 2009, he was Vice President for Corporate and Business Development North East Asia at BAE Systems with a focus on supporting a strategic initiative to work more closely with Japan. He also represented BAE on the UK/Japan 21st Century Group, a bilateral government advisory panel.
Simon is also, since 2013, an Associate Fellow of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) based in London, with a focus on Japanese defence and defence industrial policy.
