For Mr Simon and his young family, Tauranga has become the preferred location in a life that has taken him around the world from his birthplace in The Hague, Netherlands.
"We moved to New Zealand when I was 4 and couldn't speak any English so it was a bit of a challenge at first," he said.
Chance has played an early and pivotal role in his life. A blood infection from a skateboarding accident when the family first arrived saw him spending time in Kawakawa Hospital. But while waiting for him to recover, his parents decided they liked the far north so much they wanted to live there, so he was brought up and went through to the end of high school in Kerikeri, where the family ran cafes and restaurants.
Leaving school at 17, he and a friend went on an OE trip that took them through Indonesia, France, the Netherlands and Spain, as well as Germany and Switzerland, then back through Indonesia, Australia and home. The main focus was surfing.
After returning home, he went to Massey University where he completed a four-year bachelor degree in industrial design, focusing on product development and commercialisation. He then took a gap year, heading to Paihia where he helped set up a bar, and first met up with PowerSmart's future directors.
He also got a chance to crew on the maiden ocean voyage of 17 metre hi-tech, aero-rigged catamaran Jimmy, a one-off built for his godfather, sailing initially to Fiji and then on to Vanuatu.
Mr Simon was then new to sailing, but credits living on a sailing boat for first teaching him how to reduce his carbon footprint. He then moved to Canada and for the next couple of years hung out with his Canadian friends from Paihia, working when he needed to in an architectural glass systems business, and spending a lot of time snowboarding and surfing.
Mr Simon went back to the Netherlands for year and helped an uncle build a new house in northern Holland, then relocated to the UK where he worked for The Product Group, helping design and develop medical and other products.
After working in the UK, Mr Simon returned to Auckland, where he became design manager of Lexicon, a large retail fit-out company, working with a team of 12 for a year or so. By then he had met his partner Justine Thompson, who had a bach in Tauranga.
"We used to spend more time at the weekends at the Mount than in Auckland," said Mr Simon. "We both decided to drop very good jobs and move over Innovation drives
solar energy firm
for good to the bach."
In Tauranga, Mr Simon began working with Locus Research, then based in Mount Maunganui and now a key element in the Newnham Park Horticultural Innovation Centre in Te Puna and the WNTVentures technology business incubator.
"Locus developed and commercialised some very cool products," said Mr Simon.
But almost four years ago, his Canadian friends had PowerSmart up and running and the business had got to the point where a general manager was required for the New Zealand operations, so Mr Simon took up a new challenge.
The company, a Westpac Tauranga Business Awards winner, now has about 20 people based in Tauranga, with 10 certified installation partners nationwide. Mr Simon is responsible for the New Zealand residential and commercial operations.
The company recently completed New Zealand's biggest solar electricity system, 351KW installation at the Sylvia Park Mall in Auckland. Other major New Zealand projects include the 240KW Tarewa Mega Centre in Whangarei.
The company also has three teams of four-to five-people each working in the Pacific, where projects have included the 1MW Tokelau Renewable Energy Project, which made South Pacific nation 100 per cent solar powered.
Timothy Allan, managing director of Locus Research, described Mr Simon as person with an eye for detail. "He always kept an even keel and could organise and motivate those working with him," said Mr Allen.
"Rogier was someone who was always headed into a management position."
Managing by design
Rogier Simon credits his training in product design and development for giving him insights into management.
"I got into commercialising products, then worked at [retail fit-out company Lexicon], where I got interested in managing people," he said.
Mr Simon noted there were a number of disciplines involved in designing a new product, including branding, marketing and manufacturing costs.
"You're designing something that is going to both work and help somebody make money," he said.
"I translated that into management of people in different disciplines. First with engineers and other designers, then sales teams and now marketing, operations and procurement teams. It's quite neat, because you can apply the same principles as in design, where you are managing a lot of things simultaneously to get the result you require."
Mr Simon's former boss Timothy Allan, managing director of Locus Research, praised his management skills.
"While he was working at Locus Research, Rogier took full responsibility for the complex delivery of the design, development and manufacture of an international product into an offshore market under a pretty compressed timeframe," he said.
Bay life the best
Tauranga's lifestyle was the original draw for Rogier Simon and his partner Justine Thompson, who works from home helping take care of their two daughters aged five and two.
"Growing up here is amazing," he said.
Mr Simon continues to pursue a lifelong love of surfing and tries to get out in the water as often as possible with his daughters, who have boogie boards, with the older girl beginning to play around on the long board.
"I also do a lot of spear-fishing," he said, noting he recently landed a 25kg kingfish.
"That's a huge fish, especially when you're in the water with it. I love getting out there."
Rogier Simon
Role - General manager, PowerSmart Solar
Born - The Hague, the Netherlands
Age - 36
First job - working in family restaurant
Currently reading -
Let my people go surfing
by Yvon Chouinard
