Simon Goodfellow 1958-2024
Simon came up to Jesus College, Cambridge in 1977, having won an Exhibition to read Classics.
At Harrow School, Simon had been an effective and enthusiastic all-round sportsman. Like so many Harrovians, he had been especially well coached at cricket, and this was to provide a golden thread through his life, playing into his 50s, enjoying membership of the MCC, and serving as President of his local Thriplow Cricket Club.
Whilst at Jesus, he was a member of The Natives, he ran for office in the Cambridge University Conservative Association (CUCA), and became part of the embryonic Campaign for Real Gin, a membership that provided him and his family with fun and a lifelong circle of friends.
The CRG cricket club got going after Simon and his cohort had come down from university. He was one of its most talented players, the only bowler with more than 100 wickets, and scoring 1,249 runs at 23.13. His leading contribution is captured in Oliver Wise’s iconic ‘CRG Calypso’.
Here’s to Goodfellow SMD:
Of our success he is de key.
He pitch it up and bowl wid’ fire,
And rarely run into de umpire.
In later years Simon needed to protect his knees. This led him to open up off two paces. But everyone knew it would take only a couple of near misses to get his competitive juices activated. Then he would march back, mark out his full run, fire down left-arm-over thunderbolts, and to hell with the knees! When finally he did hang up his boots, it was to preserve his knees enough to allow him to enjoy Real Tennis in Cambridge.
In his professional life, after a few years at Price Waterhouse Cooper, Simon moved into equity research. Part of an award-winning smaller companies team at Capel Cure Myers and County NatWest/Wood Mackenzie, he subsequently held senior positions at various major European banks.
In 2010 Simon founded Harlyn Research and branched out on his own. He pioneered a highly creative approach to market analysis. Formidable intellect, complex mathematical modelling, an unusual ability to see and connect parts of a global picture, and intense curiosity for ‘what are the numbers telling us?’: all were brought together and marketed through tightly written ‘Synopses’. In 2012, as the oil price soared through $120, he was an almost lone voice in predicting ‘$50 before $150’ – and he was right!
Simon and Tamsin were always destined to share a country life, raising their family, and with dogs, shooting and friends at its heart. At home in Fowlmere for almost 30 years, and in the South of France, Simon and Tamsin were kind and generous hosts. They took immense pride as their children, Pippa and Kit, grew into delightful and impressive individuals.
Pippa and Kit delivered a shared eulogy at a packed memorial service at St Mary’s Church, Fowlmere. Simon had been taken suddenly, and far too young. But they took comfort in the fact that the last year of his life had been especially full and happy, with two family weddings, three holidays and anticipation of the arrival of his first grandchild. All who had seen him in the previous few months had remarked on how fit and trim he looked, a change he put down in part to consuming less red wine! But he had been working on his fitness, too, and tragically it was at a gym session that he collapsed, and despite immediate and excellent medical intervention, he could not be revived. In an emotional twist, his first grandchild arrived a matter of minutes before his passing.
“As one soul arrives, another departs”.