Dona Bertarelli

Dona Bertarelli
Born Rome, Italy
Other names Donata
Children 3
Relatives Ernesto Bertarelli

Dona Bertarelli (born 1968) is a Swiss businesswoman of Italian origin. She is co-president of the Bertarelli Foundation. She is also a sailor, having won the 2010 Bol d’Or Mirabaud[1] and, with her team Spindrift Racing, the Rolex Fastnet in 2013. In the same year, she and her team also broke the record for the America Discovery Route.

Childhood and education

Bertarelli was born in Rome in 1968. She is the daughter of Fabio Bertarelli. She and her brother Ernesto inherited Serono, a biotechnology company. Serono was founded in 1906 in Rome and was the building block of the family’s wealth.[2] The family now has a number of activities and investments, with interests in areas such as finance, real estate, health, sports, hospitality or agriculture. According to the magazine Forbes, in 2011 the family ranked as the 81st worldwide in terms of wealth.[3]

Bertarelli has a BSc from Boston University’s College of Communications.[4]

Business

Bertarelli was active in Serono, the family business, and from 1992 to 1997 was Executive Director, Public and Professional Affairs, where she established Serono Symposia and the Serono Foundation. The company was sold to Merck KGaA at the beginning of 2007.[5]

The five star Grand Hôtel Park in Gstaad was taken over by Bertarelli in 2003.[6]

Philanthropy

After her father died, Bertarelli and her brother, founded in 1999 the Bertarelli Foundation to promote the sharing and development of scientific, social and economic knowledge in the field of infertility. For ten years, Bertarelli was Chairman of the Foundation.[7]

Bertarelli is an ambassador for the Swiss transfusion charity Ma Vie Ton Sang [8] and is a supporter of the World Health Organization’s ‘Go Red for Women’ campaign.[9] She is also a godmother to the Womanity charity (formerly Smiling Children).[10]

Sailing

Bertarelli is an avid sailor and since 2007 has raced with her team, Spindrift Racing, in the monotype multihull regattas on the Lake Léman with her Décision 35 catamaran, Ladycat. Bertarelli and her team won the Bol d’Or Mirabaud in 2010.[1] Bertarelli was the first helmswoman to win this race since its inception in 1939.[11][12]

In January 2013, Bertarelli bought a Maxi Trimaran called Maxi Banque Populaire V for her Spindrift racing team.[13] In the same year, and with the boat now named Maxi Spindrift 2, she co-skippered the team to victory in the 45th Rolex Fastnet[14] and also set a new record for the America Discovery Route, beating the time set by Franck Cammas in 2007 by more than 20 hours.[15]

In August 2015, Dona Bertarelli's Spindrift 2 defended its title by taking line honors at the 46th Rolex Fastnet race.[16] Later that year, on November 22, Dona Bertarelli, with Yann Guichard and their crew, left Ushant Island, France on Spindrift 2, attempting to break the record for a crewed non-stop circumnavigation (the Jules Verne Trophy).[17] While they did not break the record, Bertarelli became the fastest woman to sail around the world.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 Bol d'Or Mirabaud report | The Daily Sail
  2. ↑ Serono S.A Key Dates
  3. ↑ "The World's Billionaires"
  4. ↑ "Ernesto Bertarelli, Private Equity Fund Hot Player". Financial Wealth. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  5. ↑ The Merck Group - Acquisition of Serono S.A
  6. ↑ "Gstaad: gold on the mountain (translation)". Bilanz. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  7. ↑ "Gstaad: Ernesto Bertarelli King Midas(translation)". Le'Hebdo. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  8. ↑ "Ambassadeurs | MaVieTonSang" (in French). Mavietonsang.ch. 2012-02-20. Retrieved 2014-02-22.
  9. ↑ "Three Year Partnership between Go Red for Women and Dona Bertarelli`s Ladycat Enables Campaign to Grow by 56%". Reuters. 2010-02-03. Retrieved 2014-02-22.
  10. ↑ Par Stéphane Benoit-Godet. "Comment les Bertarelli structurent leur action - Argent & finances, Les plus de la rédaction - Bilan" (in French). Bilan.ch. Retrieved 2014-02-22.
  11. ↑ Bol d'Or Mirabaud - History of the regatta
  12. ↑ "How Bertarelli structure their action". Bilan. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  13. ↑ "Dona Bertarelli acquires Maxi Banque Populaire V, legendary trimaran and winner of the Trophée Jules Verne. | PONTOON". Pontoon.es. 2013-01-31. Retrieved 2014-02-22.
  14. ↑ Martín Vanzulli (2013-08-15). "Catamaran Racing, News & Design: Dona Bertarelli Spindrift 2 wins Rolex Fastnet 2013". Catsailingnews.com. Retrieved 2014-02-22.
  15. ↑ Stuart Alexander (2013-11-06). "Yacht racing billionairess Dona Bertarelli sees her team smash record for the Route of Discovery - Sailing - More Sports". The Independent. Retrieved 2014-02-22.
  16. ↑ Rolex Fastnet Race. "France Dominates 90th Anniversary Rolex Fastnet Race". Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  17. ↑ Spindrift Racing. "DEPARTURE OF SPINDRIFT 2 IN JULES VERNE TROPHY RECORD ATTEMPT". Retrieved 24 December 2015.
  18. ↑ "Sailing at warp speed".
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