It may not have the highest profile in the Principality, but CFM Indosuez Wealth Management has been named Best Bank in Monaco by the international magazine Global Finance in its 2017 awards.
Global Finance analyses banking performance based on information not only from industry experts, but also from business managers, investors and others. For the 2017 awards, Global Finance placed particular emphasis on the ability of banks to innovate.
This award, now in its 18th year, reflects the high standards of excellence and innovation of CFM Indosuez Wealth Management in serving its customers, through its employees and the entire Indosuez Wealth Management Group, the bank said.
CFM Indosuez Wealth Management helps families and entrepreneurs to create, develop, protect and pass on their wealth.
The Indosuez Wealth Management network is represented in Monaco by CFM Indosuez Wealth, which claims to be the Principality’s leading bank. Its roots in Monaco date back to 1922, when it was created by some of Monaco’s leading families, some of whom are still stakeholders by 30 percent. It now has seven agencies in the region, and its teams, comprising more than 360 highly specialised members, combine their knowledge of the principality with the vast expertise and opportunities provided by the global network of Indosuez Wealth Management and Crédit Agricole group.
Aside from Wealth Management, its core business, CFM Indosuez Wealth is the only bank in Monaco that can offer financial solutions to private investors, businesses, institutions and professionals.
In 2016, CFM Indosuez Wealth Management signed a referral agreement with HSBC Private Bank with a view to welcoming clients introduced to it from HSBC’s client base in Monaco. CFM Indosuez Wealth is also Monaco’s leading commercial bank, serving two out of three businesses in the Principality.
Didier Rubiolo and the STARSNBARS kitchen are committed to preserve endangered fish species by finding tasty alternatives to the classic “fish and chips”.
In French, the “poisson d’avril” is the equivalent to a fish-themed April Fool’s Day.
But this April 1, the catch of the day at Stars’n’Bars is no joke, as they sign the “Mr Goodfish” charter, joining forces with the Prince Albert II Foundation to promote the responsible consumption of seafood.
The goal of the Mr Goodfish initiative, created in 2010, is to offer an alternative to consumers by encouraging them to try new species selected from a list established by the Mr Goodfish campaign.
The Mr Goodfish charter is a very serious commitment, according to Stars’n’Bars co-founder Didier Rubiolo, “Too many fish species are currently overfished and threatened with extinction while there are actually lots of other types of sustainable fish that are not widely known but are abundant and very delicious.”
In signing the Mr GoodFish charter, Stars’n’Bars has pledged to tailor its fish purchasing requirements and menus, and to showcase its commitment to sustainable fishing by means of a message on its menu.
Furthermore, signing the charter during Monaco Ocean Week, Mr Rubiolo said that Stars’n’Bars has always supported the goals of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and its commitment to preserving threatened marine species. “When Prince Albert asked Monaco restaurants to stop using the endangered bluefin tuna in 2009, we were among the first to respond and even helped the Foundation to reach out to other restaurants and food suppliers to explain how to make the transition to other types of fish.”
The aim of Monaco Ocean Week (March 30-April 4) is to bring together the key players in the field of marine biodiversity and raise public awareness of the action taken to safeguard the marine environment. Across the week, there are a total of 30 events planned at various venues (some may require booking, and are subject to the availability of seats – monacooceanweek.org). Stars’n’Bars will be the location for a number of technical conferences and symposiums on preserving marine biodiversity, in addition to four “awareness-raising” workshops open to the public.
Among the subjects addressed this week are the relationship between climate change and the degradation of the oceans, the issue of plastic pollution in the Mediterranean, the importance of developing Marine Protected Areas, the need to promote the sustainable consumption of seafood and the preservation of marine biodiversity.
(L-R): Christian Roisse, Eutelsat-IGO Executive Secretary (France), Rodolphe Belmer, Eutelsat SA CEO, Piotr Dmochowski-Lipski, Eutelsat-IGO Executive Secretary-Elect (Poland) , Frédéric Labarrere, President of the Assembly of Parties of Eutelsat-IGO (Monaco), Ivana Stankovic, Vice-President of the Eutelsat-IGO Assembly of Parties (Serbia). Photo: DC
Monaco has been elected to the Presidency of the Eutelsat-IGO Assembly of Parties at the 40th meeting of Eutelsat, which took place in Paris on March 15 and 16.
Frédéric Labarrère, First Counsellor at the Embassy of Monaco in France, currently Vice Chair, was elected by acclamation as President of the Assembly of Parties. Serbia was elected as Vice-President. The term of office is two years.
The new Executive Secretary of the organisation, also elected at the meeting, is Piotr Dmochowski-Lipski, from Poland, who will replace the current French Executive Secretary, Christian Roisse, on July 2, 2017.
A new Advisory Committee, the Council’s advisory body, has also been appointed, consisting of Germany, France, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Switzerland.
During the Assembly many issues were discussed, including those relating to the use of radio frequencies assigned to Eutelsat-IGO, deliberate programme interference transmitted by satellite and protection of the C-band for the fixed-satellite service.
Participation of Eutelsat-IGO in the activities of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space, the Broadband Commission for Sustainable Development, and the International Telecommunication Union and its relations with other intergovernmental satellite organisations were also talked about.
The Eutelsat Intergovernmental Organisation, now known as Eutelsat-IGO, has 49 member states. Founded in 1977, it set up the first telecommunications satellite system in Europe. In 2001, the organisation created Eutelsat SA, a satellite operator, to which it transferred its activities while continuing to ensure that the company complied with certain agreed commitments vis-à-vis the Eutelsat Member States.
The e-HealthWorld Monaco conference will be held at the Fairmont Monte-Carlo on June 1 and 2 under the High Patronage of Prince Albert II of Monaco. This scientific symposium on the topic of connected health has become, after only two editions, an essential rendezvous of the international e-health sector, and the 2017 event will cement its position as a major global event.
According to a report by “Grand View Research”, the e-health market will increase from $46 billion (€42.5 billion) in 2015 to $400 billion (€370 billion) in 2022.
Terms such as NICT, NBIC, AI, Big Data, Robotics, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Blockchains, and so forth, were not part of medical vocabulary in the recent past but are now playing a part in digitalised medicine.
Defined by WHO as the “transfer of health resources and health care by electronic means”, e-health comprises three main axes: the transmission of health information to health professionals and users via the Internet and telecommunications; using the power of information technology and electronic commerce to improve public health services through education and training of health professionals; the use of e-commerce and e-business methods in the organisation of health systems.
Leading international players in the health sector are due to take part in the Monaco conference, bringing together, among others, pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and all healthcare professionals.
Photo: Manuel Vitali/Direction de la Communication
A friendly football match took place at the Biot stadium between the Monegasque civil service team and Eurecom students on Saturday, March 25. The Monegasque team won by six goals to five and a return game should be scheduled soon.
Founded in 1991 and located in the Technopole of Sophia Antipolis, Eurecom is an internationally recognised engineering school. It brings together academic partners, including Institut Mines Telecom, as well as companies such as Orange, ST Microelectronics, BMW, IABG and Symantec. Teaching and research activities are organised around three areas: digital security, communication systems and data science.
The Government of Monaco has been an institutional member of Eurecom through its National Financing Corporation since January 2013. Initially, the partnership focused on digital security and networks, in cooperation with Monaco Telecom, also a member of the Institute.
Today, while pursuing this cooperation in the field of security, Eurecom supports the Government in the development of a Smart City project around policies on mobility and the deployment of high-performance infrastructure to facilitate innovation. The Institute is also involved in cooperation between the Government and the Nice-Côte d’Azur Metropolis with the ambition of building a laboratory of mobility by involving other members of the Institute, such as Orange and Monaco Telecom.
On Sunday, March 26, the association X-Hybrid put on a performance in memory of Laura Borla, the young girl who died, along with 85 others, during the Bastille Day attack last year in Nice. Laura loved to dance.
Eighty X-Hybrid dancers paid tribute for forty minutes to “a member of their family, a student, a dancer and a sister for Audrey and Lucie” at the Promenade du Paillon. When the music stopped, they raised their eyes and hands toward the sky.
Moved with gratitude, Laura’s mother, Marie-Claude, said, “Laura has joined the stars and we hope she is happy. We miss her terribly, but we must move forward for her, and for our children.”
Laura’s father Jacques works for SBM. And it was through this connection that a family friend, Rommy Gianni, organised a Monaco to Nice run on October 15 to raise money for the family of Laura Borla, the association “Promenade des Anges: July 14, 2016” and FENVAC (National Federation of Victims of Attacks and Collective Accidents). A “Run for Laura” JustGiving page was set up and donations were to be accepted until end of January.
I met up with Mr Gianni – or should I say, finally tracked him down – whose Team Monte-Carlo won the Snow Polo World Cup in St Moritz on January 29.
Photo: Facebook Snow Polo World Cup St. Moritz
“We have raised just under €10,000 following the Run for Laura,” Mr Gianni told me. “Berlin Jets, our faithful sponsors, have been solidly backing this project and we owe them a heartfelt thank you. Likewise, we reach out to all the individuals who supported us, as well as Rolls Royce MC, Sass Café, the BeefBar and Cipriani for helping us get together the donation to the Borla family.”
The success of the “Run for Laura” initiative is due to Mr Gianni’s deeply rooted connections within both the Monaco and Polo communities.
Born in Rome but raised in Monaco from the age of 4, Mr Gianni was introduced to polo by his father, with whom he shared various teams from the age of 19 to 30, in 2003. “I then branched off developing my team and played in Argentina, Italy and France. Simultaneously I represented Italy at a world championship in Australia, and a European championship also.”
Mr Gianni said he’s been lucky to be asked to participate in various exhibition matches around the world from Jaipur, to Brazil to Dubai. “Thanks to these opportunities, I’ve managed to nurture friendships in the polo world, which allow me to play in many different locations around the world.”
He also put together Team Cartier to play in the Snow Polo World Cup (SPWC). “The team was created following last year’s Snow Polo World Cup. Dario Musso and I always play together, and in 2016 we represented Maserati beating Team Cartier to win the World Champions title. It was at that moment I decided to contact my Team Cartier rival, Chris Hyde (10-goal player) and offer him the first chance to put a team together for the following year’s championship. Chris rose to the challenge and invited Charlie Wooldridge to join.”
There are four teams that play in the SPWC, and the same rules and regulations for grass polo apply to snow polo. The difference is obvious … snow, and an air-filled ball as opposed to a wooden one used on grass.
“The game on snow tends to be slower and the chances of the ball bouncing off more randomly are higher, given the nature of the plastic ball and snow,” Mr Gianni explained.
Team Cartier only plays one snow tournament a year, the SPWC, riding Mr Gianni’s personal horses that live and train in Chantilly. “By December we start preparing them and getting them fitter. We then give them a week to acclimatise to the subzero temperatures in St Moritz,” he described. “My groom Vanessa is the most loving and nurturing petisera on earth and looks after them better than anyone else.”
Mr Gianni is the core of the Monte Carlo Polo Team, along with professional player, Dario Mussso, with whom Mr Gianni has played for the last 20 years. Together they’ve played in Italy and Argentina, and with Mr Gianni’s first polo team, Locura, in France, as well, and now in Europe and St Moritz.
“I mostly train in Monaco, and I follow a very strict training regime and diet,” Mr Gianni told me. “The benefits of such a regimental approach are invaluable to a sport like polo. I do give into temptations here and there to maintain a healthy balance with my mind, but on the whole, I follow my training religiously.”
Mr Gianni shared they are looking to present a very unique event to the Principality, “it will be a first in Monaco but could be the beginning of a long lasting tradition,” he added.
If his commitment to Laura Borlo’s family is an indication, any undertaking by Rommy Gianni will be with a community spirit in mind.
The aim of Monaco Ocean Week (March 30-April 4) is to bring together the key players in the field of marine biodiversity and raise public awareness of the action taken to safeguard the marine environment. Across the week, there are a total of 30 events planned at various venues (some may require booking, and are subject to the availability of seats – 
