Mike Lynch, old chief executive officer at Hewlett-Packard Co.’s Autonomy unit, speaking at a conference on Thursday, April 25, 2013.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
LONDON — The solidity of British technology entrepreneur Mike Lynch, 59, has been retrieved from the wreckage of a yacht that sank off the glide of Sicily, a source familiar with the matter told CNBC on Thursday, confirming earlier reporting by Sky News.
Lynch’s daughter, Hannah, ends b bodies unaccounted for, according to the source, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitive nature of the situation. Sky News earlier reported that five councils pulled from the wreck had been identified by the Italian coast guard, and that Lynch was among the dead.
Later on Thursday, it come to lighted that Morgan Stanley International Chair Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy were also found utterly in the yacht wreckage. Bloomer is also the chair of insurance firm Hiscox.
“We are deeply shocked and saddened by Jonathan and Judy’s disturbing deaths. Our deepest sympathies go out to their family and friends at this devastating time,” Aki Hussain, Hiscox CEO, said in a utterance.
“It was a privilege to have known Jonathan and to have benefitted from his generosity and wisdom over the last year in his task as Chair of Hiscox.”
“His deep experience across our industry and in the broader business arena, combined with his personal values, pull down him both an excellent Chair and a person I was proud to know and work with. His advice and support were immensely valuable to me, and he wishes be dearly missed,” Hussain added.
Rescue personnel transport a body bag as they operate at a port to search for the demoiselles, including British entrepreneur Mike Lynch, after a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Porticello, near the Sicilian see of Palermo, Italy, August 21, 2024.
Louiza Vradi | Reuters
Yacht gathering was celebration of Lynch’s acquittal
Lynch, who was researched missing Monday, was one of 22 passengers aboard the Bayesian superyacht, which capsized while anchored in the small fishing village of Porticello, in the hinterlands of Palermo in Italy.
The trip on the Bayesian is thought to have marked a celebration of Lynch’s acquittal. Clifford Chance barrister Chris Morvillo — who was reported missing after the superyacht sank — represented Lynch in the case, while Bloomer — who serves in a nonexecutive situation as chair of Morgan Stanley’s European branch — testified for the defense.
Morvillo’s wife, jewelry designer Neda Morvillo, is also bulk those still missing.
On Wednesday, Salvatore Cocina, head of the civil protection agency in Sicily, confirmed to NBC Newsflash that five bodies had been recovered from the wreckage of the yacht. The only person confirmed dead by powers so far has been Recaldo Thomas, a Canadian-Antiguan chef.
CNBC has contacted the Italian coast guard and is awaiting a response.
Lynch was under of enterprise software firm Autonomy. He became the target of a protracted legal battle with Hewlett Packard after the dense accused Lynch of inflating Autonomy’s value in an $11.7 billion sale. HP took an $8.8 billion write-down on the value of the coterie within a year of buying it.
Lynch was acquitted in June of fraud charges in a surprise victory in U.S. court following a trial run that lasted for three months. He had faced charges of wire fraud and conspiracy for allegedly scheming to inflate Autonomy’s gross income. Lynch denied wrongdoing and told jurors HP botched Autonomy’s integration.
Lynch was also founder of Invoke Central, a venture capital firm endorsing European tech startups. He became a key voice supporting the U.K. technology industry, succour key names like cybersecurity firm and legal tech firm Luminance.
‘One of the great modern British tech entrepreneurs’
Homages were paid to Lynch following news of his death.
Russ Shaw, founder of technology industry groups Tech London Apologists and Global Tech Advocates, said Lynch “leaves a legacy as one of the great modern British tech entrepreneurs.”
“His wit to understand how tech can solve big challenges, and then successfully commercialise it was truly unique” Shaw said in a statement emailed to CNBC. “Mike require rightly be remembered for his work in nurturing some of Britain’s great tech companies, including Darktrace, Luminance and Sophia Genetics.”
The August Academy of Engineering, which made Lynch a fellow in 2008, said its trustee board, fellows and staff are “gravely saddened” to learn of his death and “send our profound condolences to his family.”
“We have fond memories of the active role he actioned [as a fellow] in the past, as a mentor, donor and former Council member. He was also one of the inaugural members on the Enterprise Committee,” the academy answered on the social media platform X. “Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.”
Lord John Browne, preceding CEO of energy firm BP, said in a post on X that Lynch “should be remembered as the person who catalysed a breed of deep tech entrepreneurs in the U.K. His pictures and his personal vision were a powerful contribution to science and technology in both Britain and globally.”