Gil Simpson

Sir Gilbert Simpson (born 5 April 1948) is a New Zealand businessman and computer programmer.

Early life Simpson was born in Christchurch, New Zealand, on 5 April 1948, and raised in the Waikato. He was educated at Christchurch Boys' High School,

Simpson is the founder of the Aoraki Corporation (later known as Jade Software Corporation), developers of the LINC 4GL and Jade programming language, who are also well known for their past sponsorship of Christchurch's Jade Stadium. More recently he founded Jolly Good Software Pty Ltd in 2006.

Simpson is recognised around the world as an advisor and speaker on Information Technology, particularly in the area of e-commerce.

In the 1989 local elections, Simpson stood in the Papanui ward of Christchurch City Council as part of the Christchurch Action ticket formed by Margaret Murray. He came fourth of six candidates in the ward that returned two councillors.

Honours and awards In the 1986 Queen's Birthday Honours, Simpson was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for public services. In the 2000 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to information technology, commerce and the community. Later in 2000 Simpson received The New Zealand Computer Society's Supreme Award for the most outstanding contribution to computing in New Zealand in the 20th century. In 2005, he was inducted into the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame, an honour reserved for business leaders responsible for outstanding contributions to the nation. In 2008 Simpson received an NZX Flying Kiwi Award and joined the PricewaterhouseCoopers NZ Hi-Tech Hall of Fame. Simpson has also been a director on the board of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

His honours and awards include: An honorary doctorate from the University of Canterbury, D.Sc. (h.c.) Past presidency of the Royal Society of New Zealand, of which he is now an honorary member Chairman of the New Zealand government's E-Commerce Action Team Chair of the New Zealand E-Commerce Summit, 2000 Chairman of the Christchurch City Mission Associate membership of the New Zealand Business Roundtable Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Management, and past membership on the NZIM advisory board Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Directors Honorary Fellow of the Institute of IT Professionals Outstanding Contribution to Technology and Business in New Zealand, New Zealand CIO Awards

Personal life Simpson is married to Joyce Adele, Lady Simpson, known as Joy Simpson. She has been active in community activities and fundraising since the 1970s, and has been described as one of the 50 most powerful people in Christchurch. In the 2016 New Year Honours, Lady Simpson was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to philanthropy.