Background
He was born in Christchurch, New Zealand and raised in the Waikato.
Businessman computer programmer
He was born in Christchurch, New Zealand and raised in the Waikato.
He attended high school in Christchurch and in 1967 began his career as a computer programmer, at age 18.
In 1969 he wrote the initial direct debit and direct cr applications which are in common use throughout the New Zealand banking industry today, and by age 22 he was Head of Computer Programming at the Comalco aluminium smelter in Bluff, which at that time was the largest industrial project ever undertaken in New Zealand. He returned to Christchurch around 1972, making it his home permanently. He lived in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, working as a programmer for Caterpillar Incorporated. between 1976 and 1978, after which he returned to New Zealand to develop a new concept in computer programming through his creation of the fourth generation language known as LINC. LINC remains New Zealand"s most successful software export to date.
He has resided in Christchurch for the past 30 years, where there is now a street named after him, Sir Gil Simpson Drive.
His latest venture is Jolly Good Software Pty Limited, which he founded in 2006 and manages from the Jolly Good gallery in Christchurch. Sir Gil is recognised around the world as an advisor and speaker on Information Technology, particularly in the area of e-commerce.