Spotlight Series: Simon Henderson

People are our greatest asset. Without them, PC Group wouldn’t be where it is today. To honour those who keep PC Group running, we’ve launched our Spotlight Series. This series will focus on the individual achievements and journeys of key staff members who have made PC Group into what it is today.

Our second spotlight will shine on PC Group’s technical wizard, Simon Henderson, or as he’s formally known, Chief Technology Officer (CTO).

Simon’s Journey

As with many people in the tech sector, Simon’s interest in technology started young. His passion for technology is clear when he talks about building applications. And while it can feel like he’s talking another language sometimes, his creations speak for themselves.

Despite a short stint managing pubs in his younger years, Simon has been writing code in some form or another for over 30 years and has been leading digital teams since 2007.

Much of his career has been spent in the safeguarding and compliance space and it’s something he loves. Prior to joining PC Group, he spent nearly 6 years with Access Group. First as Head of Development for their Safe Computing product and subsequently as Head of Screening for the entire group.

But when the pandemic hit, Simon decided that he wanted to change things up.

Joining Personnel Checks

After many years working for large corporations, a change of pace was in order. When Simon originally joined the company, we asked him what motivated him to join a much smaller business., he answered:

“I’ve spent the past 5 years working in the compliance industry and love the complexity and the real-world impact of this sector. In this time, I’ve worked for multi-national Agencies, MSPs, RPO's in all industries & Governmental bodies

I joined PC as it is a very focused business with huge potential and no corporate baggage. I’m planning on building the team and creating a product portfolio that will revolutionise the process of compliance management”

Simon has now been with us for just over 4 years and he has absolutely revolutionised our business and made the birth of PC Group possible.

The birth of Chexx.io

For most of its history Personnel Checks and its brands have utilised third-party software to deliver our screening services. Simon was enlisted to change this.

Simon and PC Group Managing Director, Jack Mellor, resolved that they wanted to create a piece of screening technology that they wished existed on the market. That’s exactly what Simon set out to achieve.

Over the past 4 years, Simon has put together an incredible team of developers and product specialists. Together with his team, they have created a groundbreaking piece of software that now powers 90% of PC Group’s screening solutions; Chexx.io.

Chexx.io is both the engine that powers PC Group’s screening solutions and a standalone product aimed at organisations that want to run their own background checks.

By minimizing our reliance on third-party tools, Simon has allowed PC Group to focus more on supporting customers and delivering the quality service that we have a reputation for.

The Future

Despite being with us for 4 years, Simon is only just getting started with his vision. There are big plans for improvements, new tools and even new businesses. With Simon driving the technological development of PC Group, we can rest assured that the future will bring more than we thought was possible.

Keep your eyes peeled for more exciting developments!