The inspiration behind J. Lyons & Co. building the first business computer, Simmons transformed how the company approached efficiency and technology. A first-class mathematician from Cambridge University, he joined J. Lyons in 1922 and rose rapidly, initiating many business process changes to improve company efficiency and effectiveness. In the early 1930s, he set up the Systems Analysis Office, and in 1947 sent two Lyons executives to the USA to assess new business methods.
They identified computers as possible tools for helping Lyons to improve its profitability. Simmons persuaded the Board of Directors to back the notion, and Lyons built the LEO Computer, with Simmons very much supervising the venture. His book *LEO and the Managers* espouses his business philosophy.
