Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley International, is among the six individuals missing after a yacht carrying UK tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch sank off the coast of Sicily during a severe storm.
Italian Official, Salvatore Cocina, head of Sicily’s civil protection agency, confirmed that Bloomer and Chris Morvillo, a lawyer at Clifford Chance, were among those unaccounted for, alongside Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, Hannah.
The British-flagged yacht, Bayesian, a 56-metre sailboat, was anchored near the port of Porticello when it was struck by a tornado in the early hours of Monday morning.
The vessel was carrying 22 people at the time, including Lynch’s wife, Angela Bacares, who owned the boat, and a one-year-old girl who was rescued by her mother. The Italian coastguard reported that 15 people were rescued, but one man, believed to be the yacht’s chef, was confirmed dead. The nationalities of the missing include British, American, and Canadian citizens.
The tragic incident comes as Lynch, co-founder of the software firm Autonomy, continues to face legal battles following the sale of his company to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion.
Efforts to locate the missing individuals continue as Italian rescue divers attempt to reach the hull of Bayesian, which sank to a depth of approximately 49 meters. The public prosecutor’s office in Termini Imerese has launched an investigation into the incident.
The storm that struck the Bayesian is part of a series of extreme weather events that have swept across Italy in recent days. Meteorologist Luca Mercalli noted that the unusually high sea surface temperatures around Sicily, nearly 3 degrees Celsius above normal, likely contributed to the severity of the storm.
As rescue operations continue, the incident has left survivors deeply traumatized. The survivors include New Zealand lawyer Ayla Ronald, who was working in London on Lynch’s legal case. The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that two of its citizens were aboard the yacht. The search for the remaining missing individuals remains ongoing.
What to know about Jonathan Bloomer
Bloomer began his career at Arthur Andersen, the now-defunct American accounting firm, where he worked from 1974 to 1994. This two-decade-long experience laid the foundation for his later roles in the finance and insurance sectors.
His connection to Mike Lynch, the British tech entrepreneur, likely stems from his role as chair of Autonomy’s audit committee from September 2010 until the company’s sale in October 2011. This period marked the beginning of his relationship with Lynch, who has been at the center of a high-profile legal and financial saga.
He has held several high-profile roles throughout his extensive career in finance and business. Currently, he is the chairman of Hiscox, a position he has held since July 2023. Additionally, he has been the chairman of Morgan Stanley International since November 2016, guiding the company’s international operations from its London headquarters.
His leadership spans various sectors, including sportswear, legal services, and credit management, with roles such as chairman of SDL Group Holdings Ltd, DWF, and Arrow Global Group Plc. He co-founded Change Real Estate Limited and has held key positions in the pension and insurance industries, including CEO of Lucida plc and chairman of Scottish Re Group Limited. Earlier in his career, he was a partner at Cerberus European Capital Advisors and held senior roles at Prudential plc.