It has been confirmed that Jonathan Bloomer, former chair of ex-Stonebridge owner SDL Group, and his wife Judy died in a yacht accident, reports say.
Bloomer was among the six people missing after the Bayesian superyacht sank off the coast of Sicily during a storm on Monday. Canadian-Antiguan chef Recaldo Thomas was identified as a casualty later that same day.
Bloomer had been the chair of Morgan Stanley since 2016, and was also chair of insurance firm Hiscox for over a year.
He was previously chair of SDL Group from 2014 to 2023, a firm that used to own financial services network Stonebridge.
Stonebridge was founded in 1988, with SDL Group – then known as Shepherd Direct – acquiring a 49% stake in the business in 2015. The firm went on to grow its stake to 100% in 2018.
SDL Group has since been separated, with Mortgage and Surveying Services set up as a trading division in 2019. Stonebridge and SDL Surveying now sit in this area of the business.
Bloomer’s wife Judy was formerly on the board of The Eve Appeal charity, which focuses on gynaecological cancer.
Aki Hussain, group CEO of Hiscox Group CEO, said: “We are deeply shocked and saddened by Jonathan and Judy’s tragic deaths. Our deepest sympathies go out to their family and friends at this devastating time.
“It was a privilege to have known Jonathan and to have benefitted from his generosity and wisdom over the last year in his role as chair of Hiscox. His deep experience across our industry and in the broader business arena, combined with his personal values, made 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 will be dearly missed.”
British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch, who was the owner of the yacht, was also confirmed dead, along with American lawyer Chris Morvillo and his wife Neda Morvillo.
Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter Hannah is still missing, while her mother Angela Bacares was among the 15 survivors.
Shekina is the deputy editor at Mortgage Solutions and commercial editor at Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions. She has nearly eight years of experience in the B2B publishing market, having previously covered the hospitality, retail, pet, accounting and jewellery sectors.
Shekina has worked for Mortgage Solutions and Specialist Lending Solutions for almost five years. Here, she covers the market’s breaking news stories, engages with professionals in the sector, and oversees any commercially agreed content in partnership with mortgage-related companies.
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