Morgan Stanley’s Bloomer among those missing after yacht sinks

MORGAN Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer is among those confirmed missing by Italian authorities along with British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch after the luxury yacht they were on board sank off the coast of Sicily early Monday (Aug 19), according to Ansa.

The head of the civil protection agency in Sicily, Salvo Cocina, confirmed to the newswire that Bloomer is among the missing. Of the 12 guests and 10 crew who were on the yacht named Bayesian, at least one person died, while six in total are still missing after a tornado hit the vessel near Porticello. 

Bloomer, 70, has worked in the finance industry for five decades. He’s been chairman of Morgan Stanley’s European business since 2018, and was named to lead British insurer Hiscox’s board last year. He is a friend of Lynch and was a witness for the defence in the long-running legal battle with Hewlett Packard.

Representatives for Morgan Stanley and Hiscox didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

From 1995 to 2005, Bloomer held senior roles at Prudential – first as the firm’s finance chief and later its chief executive officer. He left after clashing with shareholders over a decision to raise money through a rights offer to help fund expansion in the UK instead of Asia.

As of Monday, Italy’s coast guard was leading search and rescue operations and had recovered 15 people, according to Camper & Nicholsons, the managers of the 56-metre yacht. Lynch and his wife were aboard the Bayesian celebrating the tycoon’s recent acquittal from fraud charges. BLOOMBERG