Fiona Simson

Simson grew up on a farm near Armidale, in NSW, Australia. She was a rotary exchange student, in 1982 in Denmark.^[2]

Simson followed a career in corporate life, followed by a role in local government. She graduated from Bachelor of Arts, at the University of Canberra and is a graduate of the Australian Company Directors. In 2006, she successfully campaigned to stop mining companies from extracting coal seam gas, in central NSW, Caroona.^[2]

Simson ran a family farming business, including a broad acre farming and commercial breeding business, and she was elected as a Councillor in the Liverpool Plains Shire Council.^{[citation needed]}

In 2016, Simson was elected President of the National Farmers' Federation.^[3] She is an advisor for Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister, on the topic of agricultural research and development.^[4] She is also a board member on the Australian Made Campaign, AgStewardship Australia, and the Board of NRMA (NSW). She is also on the board of the Australian Farmers Fighting Fund.^{[citation needed]}

Simson was appointed to the statutory Nature Repair Committee in 2024.^[5] She was also a Director of the Biodiversity Conservation Trust of NSW, and One Basin CRC. Simson is Patron of the National Rural Press Clue, and of the Program for NFF Diversity in Leadership.^[6]

Also in 2024, Simson became an honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, in 2024.^[7][1]

Simson was elected as the first Australian vice president of the World Farmers' Organisation in 2024.^[8][9]

• 2016 – First female president of National Farmers' Federation.^[10][1]
• 2023 – Rabobank Leadership award.^[11]
• 2024 – honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering.^[12]
• 2024 – Appointment to Climate Change Authority.^[13]