Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer dies in yacht disaster – report

Jonathan Bloomer, chairman of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) International, was confirmed among those who died when a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Italy on Aug. 19, according to multiple media reports. He was 70.

His wife Judy was also confirmed among the fatalities. The couple were guests of British tech entrepreneur Mike Lynch on the superyacht Bayesian to celebrate Lynch’s acquittal at a trial, in which Bloomer had been a defense witness, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.

Bloomer had been a partner at Arthur Anderson for 20 years. From 1995 to 2005, he worked at Prudential Plc (NYSE:PUK), a Hong Kong-based provider of life and health insurance, first in senior roles then as CEO.

In June 2024, a jury acquired Lynch of criminal charges of exaggerating financials to get Hewlett Packard to overpay for Autonomy Corp., the software firm he started. Bloomer testified because he headed Autonomy’s audit committee. He said he hadn’t focused closely on accounting, but rather paid attention to “strategy, new products, new areas to look at, potential acquisitions,” Bloomberg reported.

In a statement to Bloomberg, Morgan Stanley (MS) CEO Ted Pick said Bloomer’s “leadership and experience helped the firm manage a period of complex change for our international businesses.”