PM360 asked Peter Kirk, CEO, Sermo, about the place he just can’t stop returning to.
My Odyssey: One place I continue to return to is Verbier, Switzerland, an alpine village in the Swiss Alps. I last returned in 2022 with my family for the first time in more than 10 years. I’ve always been captivated and mystified by the Swiss Alps, particularly Mont Fort which is more than 10,000 feet tall and provides a breathtaking panoramic view of the Alps.
I was drawn to return because the mountain feels symbolic of my personal climb back to good health spanning the last few years. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) as well as double lung pneumonia. After a harrowing extended hospitalization, I was able to receive a life-saving blood stem cell transplant eight months after diagnosis. The mountain feels representative of my uphill journey of perseverance to get back to running and complete the New York City Marathon five months after my transplant.
My Recommendation: It’s an excellent destination for a moment of personal reflection. Staring at the mountain reminds me of how much bigger nature and the world is than us individually and how much we can truly accomplish even when met with adversity. Destinations like Verbier help me put “my possible” into perspective.
