The PR Expert Who Puts People Before Profits – Exclusive Interview with Virginie Simon
- Brainz Magazine
- Jun 25
- 5 min read
Virginie Simon is a public relations (PR) strategist and brand architect with over 15 years of experience navigating complex communication landscapes across Switzerland and beyond. She kicked off her career handling one of the country’s largest corporate restructurings and has since led high-impact campaigns in more than 35 countries. In 2015, she founded Simon&Co, a globally awarded PR agency built on a clear mission: empower clients instead of owning them, and place mental health and purpose at the heart of communication. Virginie doesn’t just help brands speak, she helps them stand for something.
Virginie Simon, Founder of Simon&Co | PR Ninja | Mental Health Advocate
Introduce yourself! Please tell us about you and your life, so we can get to know you better.
I’m Virginie Simon, founder of Simon&Co in Lausanne, art lover, sport addict, and endlessly curious human.
My journey hasn’t followed a straight line, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve taught salsa, competed in boxing rings, wandered through art galleries in cities I can’t pronounce, and tasted street food that changed the way I see the world. Movement, in every sense, fuels me.
Simon&Co was born from that same energy: a desire to connect people, ideas, and stories with purpose and creativity. I believe business should have soul — and a sense of adventure.
When I’m not working, I’m probably hiking with Tchanko, my energetic border collie, or planning my next trip (somewhere warm, ideally spicy). Life, to me, is art in motion. Sometimes painted in shadows, but always moving forward with meaning.
What inspired you to start Simon & Co, and what sets it apart from other PR agencies?
Simon&Co was never part of a plan, it was a reaction. In 2015, after years of working in top-tier agencies like Burson-Marsteller and leading a Geneva office, I was deeply tired, uninspired, and in need of real change. I was done being "billable," done juggling client demands and internal pressure to constantly drive profits, all at the expense of meaning.
PR, to me, has never been just about media coverage. It’s about connection, trust, and giving people something real to believe in. But I had lost that spark. So I quit. No plan, no safety net, just a gut feeling and a ticket to London to study strategic brand management, giving myself time to breathe, learn, and reset.
And then something curious happened. Clients started reaching out, organically, from all over. I wasn’t chasing work, but work found me. That’s how Simon&Co was born: not from ambition, but from alignment. From a desire to build something that felt right.
Looking back, it was never really about leaving. It was about realigning with my values, my pace, my definition of purpose. That gut decision not only gave me freedom, it gave me clarity. And it still shapes how I work, who I work with, and what I say yes to today.
Today, we do things differently. We choose projects we believe in. We prioritize purpose over pressure. And we build brands the same way I built this company: with honesty, instinct, and heart.
How do you tailor your services to meet the unique needs of your clients?
At Simon&Co, there’s no such thing as a copy-paste strategy. Our clients come from a wide range of industries — from tech to healthcare to culture — and to serve them well, we have to become mini-experts in each one. That means diving deep into their world, understanding not just their business, but the political, cultural, and economic context they operate in.
My background helps here. It’s a bit unconventional, and that’s exactly why it works. I’ve studied art, psychology, social sciences, political sciences, and marketing. On paper it might look eclectic, but at the core, it’s all about understanding how people think, feel, behave, and connect. That’s what PR is really about.
Because I’m not confined to one discipline or one way of thinking, I can approach strategy from multiple angles: visual, emotional, rational, and social. It allows me to design strategies that are not only smart, but deeply human and rooted in reality. We don’t just “adapt” to our clients, we immerse ourselves in their universe and translate it in a way that resonates.
Tell us about your greatest career achievement so far.
One moment that still feels surreal happened when I was just 28. I had barely started at a renowned global PR firm in Geneva when I was thrown into what would become the largest redundancy Geneva— and probably Switzerland — had ever seen.
Everything about it felt like stepping into a different universe. We worked in what they literally called “the war room.” Phones off, emails encrypted, silence when someone entered with coffee. It was intense, high-stakes, and incredibly confidential.
I led the entire communication strategy, from scenario planning to stakeholder mapping, internal memos to public statements. I chose the spokesperson, media-trained them, coordinated with HR and the communication team, negotiated with trade unions, communicated with key opinion leaders and politicians, and obviously managing all media relations. It was a crash course in crisis management at its highest level and a defining moment in my career.
It wasn’t glamorous, but it was real. And it taught me what leadership looks like when the stakes are human. This is also a big reason why I now teach mental health first aid too.
If you could change one thing about your industry, what would it be and why?
If I could change one thing about the PR industry, it would be the obsession with appearances over authenticity, the constant pressure to be “billable,” to perform, to spin stories instead of building real ones.
Too often, agencies chase quick wins and polished headlines, forgetting what PR is truly about: building trust, fostering connection, and helping brands move with purpose. I’ve seen talented consultants drained by trying to meet both client expectations and internal profit targets, while the real essence of PR gets lost.
Another thing I’d change? The confusion between PR and communication. Many still see PR agencies as just communication providers, when in reality, communication is just one tool in the PR toolbox. PR is strategic. It shapes reputation, drives culture from the inside out, and aligns actions with values. It’s not just about a nice website or a colorful Instagram page, it’s about being understood and reaching the right targets.
At Simon&Co, part of our mission is to educate and to show that true PR isn’t about surface-level messaging, but about building brands people can actually believe in.
Tell us about a pivotal moment in your life that brought you to where you are today.
The pandemic was a turning point. Suddenly, my background in crisis communication made Simon&Co the go-to partner for many organizations navigating uncertainty. Between 2020 and 2022, demand for our services skyrocketed. As organizations dealt with major operational shifts, reputational risks, and fragile internal dynamics, I was guiding them through each step. But even as the firm grew, I was silently breaking down.
I couldn’t hire — it was too uncertain — so I took it all on myself. I worked 80-hour weeks, sometimes more. Still trained like an athlete. Tried to maintain a social life. I felt powerful — until I didn’t. My body and mind hit what I like to call an error 404 state. Burnout, in the most brutal and undeniable sense.
There’s always a before and after when experiencing such things. Recovery wasn’t quick or linear, but it changed everything. I’ve since redefined the way I work, the kind of stress I accept, and the values I live by. That experience led me to become a certified mental health instructor, and today, I integrate that knowledge into the strategies I design for companies.
Mental health is not a corporate checkbox. It’s not about polishing a Corporate Social Responsibility report or squeezing more productivity out of exhausted teams. It’s about creating cultures people can actually breathe in. It’s about meaning — the kind PR should always carry.
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