Simon Vetter works with executives who want to create positive changes and professionals who want to create a STAND OUT brand.

Over the course of his career, he has coached, trained and advised managers and teams from Agilent Technologies, CalPERS, Callaway Golf, Daimler, Gallo Winery, Johnson & Johnson, RE/MAX, Siemens, Toyota, UBS and others.

His clients engage him because they want more clarity, focus and personal balance. He assists them in improving behaviors, effectively influencing others, developing high-performing teams and delivering results.

His latest book, STAND OUT! Branding Strategies for Business Professionals, delivers practical solutions to advance one’s career, find personal fulfillment at work, and establish a credible, attractive personal brand. Simon often delivers presentations to conferences and organizations about personal branding strategies for leaders.

With 20 years of experience in marketing, sales, and leadership development, Simon combines an MBA-equivalent degree in business and marketing from University of Berne, Switzerland.

Simon is a member of Alexcel Group, a worldwide alliance of executive coaches. He also serves on the board of directors of the San Diego World Trade Center and is a long-time member of Toastmasters. Simon grew up in Switzerland and has been living in San Diego, California, for 12 years. He is fluent in English and German.

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Simon, the Swiss Guy

I was born and raised in Switzerland. At age eight, my family moved from Lucerne to Zollikofen, a town of 8,000 people located a few miles outside of Berne, the capital of Switzerland. I spent eight years in school there and then transferred to Berne for college, where I graduated with a business degree (a Matura, the equivalent of a Bachelor’s degree in the U.S.).

After my mandatory year of service in the Swiss Army, I studied business, economics and marketing at the University of Berne. During my five-year study, I held a variety of jobs: driving a taxi, starting a food-delivery service, working in the marketing department of a major Swiss telecommunications company, conducting market research for a consulting company, and providing mountain bike tours in Greece.

At age 26, I moved to Zurich to work as a project manager for an executive seminar provider. I designed, marketed and organized educational programs, conferences and seminars in the areas of strategy, marketing and sales for executives throughout Europe. This gave me the opportunity to work with and learn from many world-renowned business experts, including Peter Drucker, Gary Hamel, Philip Kotler and Michael Porter.

Four years later, I left my marketing job, booked a flight to San Diego and registered for a three-month English program in La Jolla. On March 16, 1997, I arrived at the International Airport in San Diego.

Simon in California

March 16, 1997 was a turning point in my life. It was late afternoon when I landed at San Diego’s Lindbergh Field airport. I picked up my luggage – two suitcases and my mountain bike – and I stepped outside the airport terminal. The sun was setting on the horizon, coloring the western sky from orange to dark blue, and I felt a refreshing ocean breeze on my face. I felt like I was on vacation and I said to myself, “This is a nice place to be.”

I came to San Diego to refresh and improve my English. By mid-June, I had finished my English studies and decided to stay in the US. I liked San Diego, the California lifestyle and the weather so much that I wanted to live and work here.

After rigorous networking, I landed a sales job for an international training organization, Dale Carnegie Training. With lots of dedication and long hours, I became an award winner and top sales producer during my second year with the company. As a reward, I was invited to the company’s international convention in Seattle, Washington, in December 1999. I discovered that “sales” is not only an essential business function; it’s also a highly reputable profession. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to learn and practice the fine art of sales for four years.

My employer eventually offered me an opportunity to participate in a variety of training programs. I attended courses in communication, presentation, interpersonal skills, leadership, management and sales, and absorbed as much as I could to increase my skills in those areas. The more training I received, the more my interest in teaching grew. In my first year of working for the training company, I became an assistant instructor and two years later, a certified instructor of communication and leadership programs. I discovered how much I enjoyed teaching, whether it was facilitating a course in high-impact presentation to managers or teaching public speaking to 35 business people. I discovered teaching was my passion. I had found my “calling” – or as Aristotle put it, the place “where your talents and the needs of the world cross.”

In 2001, I decided to open my own consulting and coaching business. With no clients to start with, I did what I love to do most: I met people, networked, and talked about business and marketing. This led to my first client, then more knowledge, experience and more business. Now I enjoy working with companies, managers and professionals, teaching them the skills, attitudes and knowledge to Stand Out.

Values

These four values are the guidelines I strive to live my life by:

Passion

I love to learn. I also love to teach! I enjoy gaining new knowledge, increasing awareness, changing behavior
and developing new skills, both in myself and others.

I teach in different ways:

• One-on-one coaching
• Workshop facilitation and group coaching
• Giving speeches and presentations
• Teaching teleclasses
• Writing

With a deep commitment to lifelong learning, I continue to grow my mind, expand my horizons, build new habits and explore new topics. This is what gets me up in the morning. It’s exciting, rewarding and fulfilling.