Ed Simpson is chief strategy officer at Wheelhouse Group, overseeing strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, and business development across all divisions of the company. Run by CEO Brent Montgomery, in close partnership with Jimmy Kimmel, Wheelhouse serves as a one-stop shop for content, talent, brands and entrepreneurs, harnessing business and programming opportunities across industries and platforms, and helping companies and creators accelerate and manage their ventures.

Simpson and Montgomery’s dynamic business collaboration and close personal friendship has endured for more than a decade, including the growth of Montgomery’s first company, Leftfield Entertainment, and its acquisition by ITV in 2014, as well as the strategic roll-out of Wheelhouse.

Since joining the company at launch in 2018, Simpson has spearheaded Wheelhouse’s rise and expansion, including deals forged with Kimmelot (ABC’s Emmy-winning Live in Front of a Studio Audience: Norman Lear's All in the Familyand The Jeffersons; Comedy Central’s Crank Yankers); live entertainment giant Den of Thieves (MTV Video Music Awards, Taylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour); lauded production company Campfire (HBO Max’s Heaven’s Gate: The Cult of Cults, Netflix’s The Innocent Man); digital content studio Portal A (YouTube Rewind); and Wheelhouse’s own production label Spoke Studios (HISTORY’s Assembly Required; Discovery’s River of No Return), among others. Wheelhouse has also partnered with leading talent including Kevin Hart, Adam Levine, Steph Curry, David Dobrik and many others.

Prior to Wheelhouse, Simpson was executive vice president, business development & international at ITV America. Before that, he was SVP, business development & international at Leftfield Entertainment. He joined Leftfield Pictures in 2012, focusing on M&A and playing a major role in Leftfield’s growth strategy, including the acquisition of Sirens Media, and striking international format deals for hit series like Pawn Stars and Alone. 

Speaking on: Managing through Uncertainty: Dollars and Sense