About Simon

Mr. Simon Iyore Guobadia was born on June 2, 1964, in Nigeria. Mr. Guobadia grew up in an upper- middle-class family with seven other siblings. His father, Stanley Guobadia, had a distinguished career employed by the Nigerian Prison Services where he retired as the Assistant Director of Prisons. His mother, Martina Guobadia retired as an English School Teacher

Mr. Guobadia believes in innovation, enterprise, and faith. Simon left the corporate world to forge his own path as an entrepreneur after successfully completing a career as a Certified Public Accountant with a focus in Audit & Accounting, Transactional Tax Consulting and Software Development for several global prestigious firms.

Early Life

Education

Mr. Guobadia’s elementary and high school years were completed in Nigeria. He attended Loyola College, a catholic boarding high school run by Jesuit priests in Ibadan, Oyo State Nigeria for 5 years. He then proceeded to Government College Ughelli in Delta State Nigeria. He would later drop out and immigrate to the United States in 1982. Simon graduated with a BBA in accounting from the University of District Columbia in Washington DC 1993.

Education

– ALAN COHEN

“To grow, you must be willing to let your present and future be totally unlike your past. Your history is not your destiny. ”

In 2007, he founded Simon & Company that later became Simcol Petroleum Limited Company, LLC, a petroleum supplier in Atlanta, Georgia. As a self-made, first-generation entrepreneur in the fuel business, Mr. Guobadia has replicated his expertise and discipline into all areas of his life, including several other business ventures, passion projects, and philanthropic endeavors.

Mr. Guobadia’s entrepreneurial spirit has led him to plethora of investments both within and beyond the fuel industry, spanning entertainment, music, movies, food and beverage, and hospitality. Many of these passion projects are geared specifically toward building up his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia.

Currently, Mr. Guobadia holdings include businesses in Oil & Gas, Renewal Energy, Manufacturing, and Commodities Trading. He also held investments in several local businesses at the center of Atlanta’s nightlife, including The Republic, Barbecue restaurant, DAS BBQ II, and LDV Hospitality subsidiary, American Cut Steakhouse. He has also been involved in several past joint venture partnerships, including Twelve Music and Publishing, KES Entertainment Group with music mogul, Akon, and Simon Paige Productions. A man of many interests, Simon has ventured into the film industry, with executive producer credits on Jail House Dogs (2012), Ken Ford Live from the Buckhead Theatre (2013), Kill (2019), and Son of the South, alongside Academy Award winner, Spike Lee (2020).

Among all his achievements, Mr. Guobadia’s greatest purpose is philanthropy. He is a generous benefactor to his local faith community and a regular donor to Northpoint Ministries – a coalition of seven churches in the Metro Atlanta Area. When he is not running his businesses, Mr. Guobadia’s main job is to be a loving father to his six children. Among all the big deals and career wins, his most prized achievement is simply being a dad.

Business

SIMON GUOBADIA 2023