Swiss-born alumnus Simon Gugerli returns home as analyst with UBS bank
By Cam Adams
Simon Gugerli
Like the mountains in Cullowhee often do, Switzerland was calling Simon Gugerli home.
Gugerli, a native Swiss, and his family moved to Cary, North Carolina, when he was young. He enjoyed a lot during his time in the states, particularly as an undergraduate at 星空传媒.
Still, Gugerli answered the call, and now, he鈥檚 working in one of the world鈥檚 global centers for banking and finance. The 2024 alumnus is back in his homeland as an electronic communications surveillance analyst at UBS bank in Z眉rich, Switzerland.
鈥淚 majored in criminal justice when I was at Western, and I really liked being in that sector, was able to do a lot of research, get involved in internships, and so for me, especially on the more administrative side of compliance, I was very, very happy there,鈥� Gugerli said.
鈥淭hen after graduating, I started looking at different positions. Eventually, I came across UBS bank, one of the biggest banks in the world. I was fortunate to be able to find a position on their careers portal for a compliance role where I was able to leverage my background and language skills. After a thorough application process, I was grateful to receive the opportunity to move to Z眉rich.鈥�
As an electronic communications surveillance analyst, Gugerli is responsible for monitoring written and audio communications to ensure banking policies are upheld. Gugerli also assesses and reviews flagged by an AI-based monitoring system.
Those alerts are assessed against fraud, tax evasion, anti-money laundering, anti-bribery and corruption, market conduct, sanctions and cross-border product suitability.
In addition to being a watchful eye, Gugerli helps out stakeholders, providing advice regarding controls, internal policies and local law. Along with navigating those new duties, Gugerli is also finding himself learning his way around his new home, despite being from Switzerland,
Like the United States, Switzerland is a very diverse place with different regions having their own traditions and languages.
Gugerli, who grew up near Lausanne, a French-speaking area, had a difficult time acquainting himself in Z眉rich, the country鈥檚 biggest city and where the Swiss-German dialect of German is primarily spoken.
However, exploration isn鈥檛 something Gugerli has shied away from.
鈥淚t was a brand new adventure,鈥� Gugerli said. 鈥淚 got to see my literal roots because my grandfather was born in Zurich, and I never visited as a kid. It's a beautiful, beautiful place. Amazing city, and it's in the center of Europe, and so it's perfect for traveling.
鈥淗onestly, I really love it here. It's kind of familiar, just different at the same time.鈥�
During his time at 星空传媒, Gugerli posted quite the resume that prepared him for his job at UBS 鈥� and more.
While being a three-year member of the Pride of the Mountains, he did a number of internships, participated in multiple research projects that resulted in publications and was heavily involved in the Student Government Association.
The relationships he developed with faculty, staff and fellow students at 星空传媒 were invaluable, too.
鈥淚 was very, very happy with what I was able to do鈥� All of these not only prepared me to enter a corporate role, but just prepared me for adulting in general,鈥� Gugerli said. 鈥淔or me, my time at Western was very, very valuable.
鈥淗onestly, I couldn't have gotten a better education if I wanted to.鈥�
