Spear’s Review

Currently chief financial officer of Savills, Simon Shaw is set to become CEO of the company from 1 January 2026, taking the reins from 29-year Savills veteran Mark Ridley.

Shaw has been CFO at Savills since 2009, so he has strong insight into both the company’s finances and the wider UK real estate market. Alongside Ridley he helped Savills through the 2008 financial crisis, bringing the company up from a period of sharp profit declines to the prosperity it still experiences today.

A chartered accountant, Shaw has held positions across a variety of companies: he was chief financial officer of medical technology company Gyrus Group from 2003 to 2008 before its sale to the Olympus Corporation, and was a corporate financier at Hambros Bank Limited.

Savills’ revenue increased by 6 per cent in the first half of 2025, and its pre-tax profit increased by 78 per cent year-on-year, despite economic and trade policy uncertainty. 

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