Meet the Shred Station team

Simon Franklin founded Shred Station in 2008. Under his leadership, the company has transformed from a small local business to the world’s largest independent shredding service provider.

Having been in the industry since leaving school, starting a shredding company came naturally to Simon. From the start, his mission for the company has always been to provide an environmentally friendly service that doesn’t compromise on security. Staying true to this mission has ensured sustainable growth for Shred Station, building customer trust with consistent transparency into our security processes and carbon reduction measures. Simon’s key focus is typically on the diversification of services, meaning Shred Station’s offering has now developed from specialist confidential waste services to a full waste management solution.

Simon’s hands-on, environment-focused approach to leadership earned him the Director of the Year trophy in the 2024 EDP Business Awards, as well as a place on the 2024 Net Zero 50 List. He has also been featured in The Telegraph and many other press publications.

In his personal time, Simon can usually be found in a pair of running trainers. He has completed several marathons across multiple continents and always seems to have more marathon plans in the pipeline. He also enjoys spending time with his daughters, his dogs, and, once in a while, destroying things in the warehouse to wind down after a long day.

Kristian Carter joined Shred Station in 2020, taking on the responsibility of orchestrating an agile strategy to grow and further develop the business in line with our key objectives. Since his appointment, company turnover has more than doubled, which Kristian attributes to always working on innovations that improve our customer service. As such, we have maintained our industry-leading customer review scores, been able to acquire several businesses, expanded our base of regular customers, and continue to experience sustainable growth.

In addition to his work at Shred Station, Kristian is also heavily involved with the British Security Industry Association (BSIA) Information Destruction section, acting as Vice Chair between July 2020 and June 2021, and since then as Chair. In this role, Kristian was part of the team that updated the European standard for security shredding, BS EN 15713, published in 2023 to supersede the 2009 standard. His involvement with the BSIA as Chair of the Information Destruction section means that Shred Station is always informed of upcoming industry changes and compliance requirements.

Kristian is also involved in industry-wide projects such as The ACT UK project, which created the blueprint for the first-ever automatic sorting and pre-processing plant for waste textiles.

In his free time, Kristian enjoys spending time with his family, travelling to new places, channelling his daily stresses into jiu-jitsu, and eating marmite sandwiches.

Ross Akers joined Shred Station as the company’s Finance Director in 2017. AAT and ACCA qualified, Ross oversees Shred Station’s financial operations and strategy.

Making data-driven decisions to improve Shred Station’s financial performance, Ross plays a key role in business expansion. With Ross’s expertise, Shred Station’s finances have been able to thrive, enabling us to reinvest profits into assets and strategies that allow for future growth. He also assists with any complex queries from the Accounts team. 

In his private life, Ross enjoys spending his free time with his growing family, listening to music, watching football, and playing golf.

Oliver Grice was one of Shred Station’s first employees, joining the company in 2008. Now Shred Station's Operations Director, Oliver oversees the company’s UK-wide day-to-day operational processes, including vehicle routing.

Oliver’s experience at Shred Station places him in a unique position to succeed in this role. Starting as a driver’s mate, Oliver acted as the face of the business, collecting customers’ confidential materials from across their premises. Oliver then acquired his HGV licence to become a full-time driver. Within three years, he was promoted to Transport Manager, and then to Operations Manager two years later. After four years of working as Operations Manager at our Norwich depot, he was promoted to his current position. Oliver’s operational experience at every level means he has an amazing understanding of all issues that can arise with complex route schedules, and, importantly, how to quickly solve these issues to provide the best possible service for our customers.

In his spare time, Oliver can often be found at Norwich City FC’s home ground at Carrow Road as a keen supporter of the team. He also unwinds by playing football each week, watching films, drinking nice coffee, and spending time with his loved ones.