Andi Simon

Andrea J. Simon, PhD (“Andi”) is an international leader in the growing field of corporate anthropology, an award-winning author, and founder and CEO of Simon Associates Management Consultants (SAMC). SAMC was founded two decades ago to apply the theory, methods, and tools of anthropology to help companies, organizations, and communities adapt to changing times. Her book On the Brink: A Fresh Lens to Take Your Business to New Heights won an Axiom Bronze Best Book award in 2017. On the Brink delves into the application of corporate anthropology to business problems. The seven case studies illustrate how anthropological methods can help companies see themselves in new ways—and reignite their growth strategies. Several of the companies were in need of a Blue Ocean Strategy, an area of Dr. Simon’s expertise. Before opening her consulting business in 2002, Dr. Simon held executive management positions in financial services and healthcare organizations, each of which was going through rapid change. She was a consultant at Citibank during the period of deregulation, as well as executive vice president of First National Bank of Highland and senior vice president of Poughkeepsie Savings Bank, all of which had to adapt to a new business landscape. In the healthcare sector, she was the director of branding and marketing for Montefiore Medical Center and vice president for branding, marketing, and physician services for St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center. Dr. Simon also was a tenured professor of anthropology and American studies at Ramapo College of New Jersey. In 2006, she was a visiting professor teaching entrepreneurship at Washington University in St. Louis. And in 2018, she and her husband and partner, Andrew Simon, launched the Simon Initiative in Entrepreneurship at the Skandalaris Center at Washington University in St. Louis. A trained practitioner in Blue Ocean Strategy, Dr. Simon has conducted over four hundred workshops and keynote speeches between 2007 and 2020. She also has worked with a wide range of clients to help them find their own Blue Ocean Strategies and is widely published on the topic. A highly experienced consultant working on culture change, Dr. Simon uses the Organizational Culture Assessment Instrument (OCAI) developed by Dr. Kim Cameron and Dr. Robert E. Quinn. Dr. Simon is part of the consulting team licensed to use the OCAI-online in the Netherlands. Dr. Simon is also a trained facilitator of Innovation Games®. SAMC uses Innovation Games widely as part of their approach to helping organizations see things with fresh eyes. SAMC’s clients span the gamut of industries from manufacturers to service companies to colleges and universities and innovative companies. A contributor to Huffington Post, Fierce Health, and Forbes, Dr. Simon has been on Good Morning America and ABC New York. She has been interviewed in the Washington Post and published in Business Week, American Banker, Daily News, INC Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, John Wiley Global Business, and Organizational Excellence, among others. Her podcast On the Brink with Andi Simon is ranked among the top 200 in business podcasts and the top 20 futurist podcasts, with over 3.2 million downloads. Her podcast brings together thought leaders, CEOs, entrepreneurs, authors, and business leaders to help people see, feel, and think about themselves and their businesses through a fresh lens. Andi and her husband have two wonderful daughters, three amazing grandchildren, and two marvelous sons-in-law. Together they enjoy the gifts and challenges of their extraordinary lives.