Motivational
Based: Johannesburg
Simon comes from a commercial background, armed with a B.Comm Accounting from Wits University, he spent most of his university holidays and formative careers years working with young entrepreneurs and small businesses.
His passion for youth development was began also in university where he Co-Founded and worked on a variety of young leadership development projects which furthered his passions for developing the next generation of leaders and inspiring people within his generation.
His most notable programme was the Emalahleni Young Leader Development programme, which focused on the 4 main reasons why students dropped out of university. Using career development programmes and life-skills interventions, this programme assisted students from previously disadvantaged backgrounds in Emalahleni to be better prepared for university & find financial support where needed. This programme not only increased pass rates in some of the schools but also assisted certain students in obtaining funding for their tertiary studies.
In 2011 at the age of 23 Simon was asked to join the Co-Author team of Oxford University press, co-authoring the Grade 7-9 and 11 Life Orientation textbooks. This was due to his unique view on life principles and ability to translate them to young people. At last count, these textbooks had sold over 80 000 copies.
In his current role Simon works with a variety of projects in the Young Leader Development space. He works with companies, state owned enterprises and professional bodies in furthering their young leader development objectives, both within and outside their companies. He has worked with the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants on their Thuthuka Development Camp, Eskom
Development Foundation, SABC Education and multi-nationals such as Ernst and Young, Investec, FNB and DHL, this is excluding his work at educational institutions.
Many of these relationships are mutually beneficial relationships. Because of his collaborative spirit and his ability to serve his clients’ needs, he is asked to render his services in other spheres indirectly linked to his motivational talks.
SIMON’S SPEAKING PHILOSOPHY:
Simon’s talks are based on 2 simple principles:
Evoking the greatness within:
“I believe that everyone has an inner greatness, you have to tap into it and stir it up. Once you can tap into this, incentive is only complimentary”
Empowering people with principles:
“Principles are those timeless tools that we can use to navigate through life’s toughest trials/challenges right up to the destination, to our desired goal.”
