Born in Bäretswil, Switzerland on 1 May 1839, Guyer-Zeller was the son of an owner of spinning mill and creator of a textile export trade in Zürich.

He studied at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich.

Later, he turned his attentions to what had become a booming business, the building of railways in Switzerland.

In order to finance the JB, he founded the Bank Guyerzeller AG in 1894, which became fully owned by HSBC in 2004.

On 3 April 1899, Guyer-Zeller, aged 59, died of a heart attack in Zürich.