Simon Illingworth

Former Detective Sergeant Simon Illingworth was bashed, threatened and intimidated by bent cops and underworld criminals, all in the line of duty. His life gives dramatic insight into Melbourne’s gangland war and the ugly world of police corruption. Simon appeared on ABC’s Australian Story, an episode that won journalism’s Gold Quill. His book Filthy Rat is an Australian best seller.

As a result of his life experiences, Simon Illingworth has a powerful story to tell that challenges the status quo, causes people to examine their values and teaches them how to make the hardest decisions under pressure.

Simon has received numerous awards for bravery and leadership, from Victoria Police, the Governor of Victoria, Royal Humane Society and the Sir Vincent Fairfax Fellowship.

Simon talks about:

International studies have found storytelling to be the best method of inspiring and to getting ideas to ‘stick’. Simon uses his experiences and natural storytelling ability to challenge the status quo, teach people how to make courageous decisions under pressure and to decide on a set of values and principles on which to base their business culture.

While there’s no doubt Simon’s unique experiences draw people to conferences just to hear him speak, it is the lasting effect of the message delivered that makes many of Australia’s largest corporations bring him back for additional sessions with employees.