Simon Ambrose

Simon Ambrose was the 2007 winner of the third series of the British version of reality TV show The Apprentice, in which contestants compete for a £100,000-a-year job working for British business magnate Sir Alan Sugar.^[1] He is now Chairman of the London Contemporary Orchestra.^[2][3][4]

Background

Ambrose went to Westminster School,^[5] and was a member of Rigaud's house, before graduating from Magdalene College, Cambridge, with a BA in Economics.^[6] He worked for investment bank Credit Suisse in London^[7] and then ran his own Internet shopping business^{[citation needed]} before applying for The Apprentice. He is a member of Mensa having received an IQ score of 174 (SD 24) at 13 years old.^[6] He is the son of businessman Russell Ambrose, who founded and still owns Optimax, a chain of laser eye surgery clinics in the UK.^[8] His grandfather also enjoyed entrepreneurial success as a jeweller. The success of both spurred Simon to succeed in the business environment.^[9]

The Apprentice

Ambrose was hired by Sir Alan Sugar in the final episode of series three of The Apprentice, which aired on BBC One on 13 June 2007, after he defeated fellow finalist Kristina Grimes. Ambrose was project manager of his team twice in the show in weeks 7 and 10, although his second stint was disastrous, as during a demonstration of a trampoline for an online shopping channel, he inadvertently appeared to be mastubating.^[10][11] Ambrose's and Grimes's task in the finale was to design money-making buildings to be sited on the South Bank of the River Thames in London.^[12]

Working for Amsprop

After his Apprentice victory, Ambrose was assigned a role at Sugar's property company Amsprop.^[13] He is also training as a surveyor. He will be in charge of developing a hotel and golf course near Stansted Airport and it is reported that he and Lord Sugar are planning on building London's most expensive office and may bid for a prime site on London's St. James's Square.^[14]

As of March 2008, Ambrose had reportedly "been working diligently on a property website that allows buyers to speed up legal obstacles".^[15] As of March 2009, he had reportedly relaunched www.amsprop.com – "a one-stop shop giving customers instant access to all of AMSPROP's portfolio".^[16] However, in April 2010 he was reported to be leaving to start his own venture.^[17][18]

See also

• The Apprentice UK
• The Apprentice (UK Series Three)
• Alan Sugar

References