Known for his explosive speed and long sprint, 28 year old Simon van Velthooven was recruited by Emirates Team New Zealand to provide the power that allowed the Catamaran to be so competitive in Bermuda and ultimately bring the cup home.
Previous experience: Prior to his sailing career as a Cyclor, Simon achieved numerous cycling accolades representing New Zealand.
In 2012 Simon made his Olympic debut in London, securing a Bronze medal in the highly contested and physically demanding Sprint event - the Men’s Keirin. Simon won the 99th Olympic medal and was only the second individual male to medal at the 2012 London Olympics; claiming New Zealand’s first Sprint Cycling Olympic medal.
Current work:
Motivational speaker:
Simon attributes his motivation and strong work ethic to his upbringing in rural Manawatu. He has also completed a Bachelors Degree in AgriCommerce, majoring in Rural Property Valuation.
As a sporting speaker, his presentations are inspirational and engaging.
Working for Microsoft I attend many conferences both in New Zealand and the US. At a recent Partner conference with Intergen I was really privileged to hear the story of Simon van Velthoove ... keep reading Microsoft
I wanted to personally thank Simon for his contribution to the Altus Industrial Conference. Simon's relaxed but professional manner was appreciated and certainly made it easy to deal with. Our Managing Director, Ron Holden was especially impressed and made the comment to the group afterwards that Simon would have to be one of the best speakers he has heard. Simon's relaxed manner and ability to adapt to the group and his willingness to share personal experiences in such a candid way really meant a lot to us all.
