A cruise on the Mediterranean aboard a superyacht was presupposed to be a celebratory occasion for British technology entrepreneur Mike Lynch, who was acquitted in June of fraud charges related to the sale of his company Autonomy to technology giant Hewlett-Packard.
Instead, it become a disaster after the yacht, a 180-foot boat named Bayesian, sank in a violent storm off the coast of Sicily. Of the 22 passengers on board, 15 were rescued, one body was recovered and 6 were still missing. The search at the positioning of the sunken yacht was still ongoing on Tuesday.
Here’s what we all know in regards to the passengers:
Mike Lynch and his family
Lynch, 59, is a British software entrepreneur who was once called his country's Bill Gates. He founded the software company Autonomy, which analyzed disorganized data from customers, and turned it into probably the most significant British technology corporations of its time. He became a widely known business leader, advising then-British Prime Minister David Cameron and joining the board of the BBC.
In 2011, Lynch sold Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard for $11 billion, well above market value and earning him tons of of thousands and thousands. But HP's investors were almost immediately taken with the deal, and the American technology giant promptly fired its CEO – after which Lynch.
HP later accused Lynch of misleading the corporate about Autonomy's business situation, starting a 10-year legal battle for the British executive, who denied the allegations. US prosecutors charged him and other executives with fraud, and Autonomy's chief financial officer was convicted in 2018.
Despite appeals to the British government, Lynch was extradited to the US last yr and imprisoned in a San Francisco townhouse until his criminal trial, which begins in March. Despite facing many years in prison if convicted, Lynch and one other colleague were acquitted of all charges.
Lynch's wife, 57-year-old Angela Bacares, accompanied him on the yacht and was rescued Monday when it sank. She was a full-time attendee at his trial within the U.S. Records show she controlled Revtom, the corporate listed because the owner of the Bayesian.
Hannah Lynch, the 18-year-old daughter of Mr Lynch and Ms Bacares, was also on the yacht and was amongst those still missing.
The other guests
Among those missing is Jonathan Bloomer, 70, chairman of Morgan Stanley's international arm and chairman of Hiscox, an insurance provider traded on the London Stock Exchange. His wife Judy Bloomer, 71, can also be missing.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected, especially the Bloomer family, as we all await further news on this terrible situation,” Morgan Stanley said in a press release.
Also among the many missing is Christopher J. Morvillo, 59, a New York-based partner on the international law firm Clifford Chance. Morvillo, a former federal prosecutor who comes from a family of distinguished lawyers, represented Lynch during his criminal trial in San Francisco. His wife, Neda, 57, was with him on the yacht and can also be among the many confirmed missing.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by this tragic incident,” a Clifford Chance representative said in a press release.
Survivors include Charlotte Golunski, a partner at Lynch's enterprise capital firm Invoke Capital, Golunski's husband James Emslie, and their one-year-old daughter Sophie. Also rescued were Ayla Ronald, a lawyer at Clifford Chance, and her partner Matthew Fletcher.
The Crew
The yacht had a crew of ten. The body of the cook Ricardo Thomas was recovered from the water, the Sicilian civil protection agency said.
Elisabetta Povoledo contributed to reporting and Kitty Bennett And Susan Campbell Beachy made a research contribution.
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