Billionaire businessman and Monaco resident Flavio Briatore has been released from a Milan hospital after spending almost a week under observation for Covid-19.
The 70-year-old was admitted to the San Raffaele Hospital in Italy on Sunday after testing positive for the coronavirus. He was released on Saturday and is now in quarantine at his home in Italy.
Flavio Briatore greeted photographers as he left the hospital wearing a protective mask. The businessman and former Renault boss – who was recently forced to close his restaurant Cipriani in Monaco because of Covid-19 cases among the staff – waved to photographers before getting in his car to go home.
“The general clinical conditions allow the patient to continue treatment in isolation at home, as planned in the event of positive Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus,” San Raffaele Hospital said in a statement.
The flamboyant businessman was originally being treated for acute prostatitis when a mandatory conoravirus test came back positive.
Briatore’s former wife Elisabetta Gregoraci and Fernando Alonso have both said separately to the Italian media that the 70-year-old Italian is “fine”.
Flavio Briatore steered Michael Schumacher to world titles in 1994 and 1995, and Fernando Alonso to a similar double in 2005/2006 before leaving his role as Renault team boss following the ‘crashgate’ scandal in 2008/2009.
“I was one of the best, you know,” he recently told Euronews. “Historically, when you look at F1 as a whole, I was the first to do things differently. People love to start rumours, to talk. I won the World Championship with three different teams. I am the one with the most victories in Monte Carlo.”
Daniela Boutsen could never have imagined the life she would come to lead when she was growing up as a young girl in West Berlin, her path restricted by the Berlin Wall and the general financial restraints of the time. Travelling was a yearly treat for her family, and it was almost never taken by plane.
Now, she calls the luxurious Principality of Monaco her home, travels in private jets are as common as car trips, and she heads a successful design company listing royalty, heads of state and the world’s elite among her clientele.
But every step of the way, Daniela Boutsen has been in complete control of her destiny, carefully carving out a path with the perfection and precision that her German heritage affords her.
To understand where Daniela Boutsen has arrived today, it is important to know where she has come from. Her love for arts de la table was born during an internship at one of Germany’s oldest porcelain makers, Königliche Porzellan Manufaktur in Berlin. It was here where this young professional dancer could apply her talent for art and keen interest in business, learning everything from purchasing and marketing to porcelain production and decoration.
At the age of 21, Daniela founded her first company – an events agency providing staff for major trade shows. The first client she landed was Volkswagen, an icon of post war West Germany and the world’s largest automaker.
“I was so nervous, they were all so old and grey, smoking cigarettes,” Daniela says of her first meeting with the group. “I wore glasses not because I had trouble with my vision but just so I could look older.”
She need not worry because within three years, Daniela had established the second largest agency in Germany. When she was contracted by Audi for a race car meeting, she met champion Belgium racing driver Thierry Boutsen. Her life was set on an unexpected new path.
“I had no clue who he was when we were introduced,” she smiles. “It took me a while to figure out that he was in Berlin with his private jet – it was inconceivable in my little world that you could even have a private jet. And the fact he was living in Monaco, I thought ‘Where is Monaco?’”
Monaco, as Daniela came to realise eight months later, was a far cry from the reunified German capital where she had strived to become a strong, independent young woman. “It was a bit challenging, because Monaco was all new for me, it was not my world. Today, I appreciate seeing a growing female entrepreneurial spirit here, but 25 years ago that was not the case,” shares Daniela.
When Thierry Boutsen suffered a serious accident during the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1999, he put the brakes on his racing career and focussed on his other passion – aviation. Recruited by friends like HH Frentzen, Michael Schumacher, Keke and Nico Rosberg to help buy and sell their private jets, and with a degree in engineering under his belt, Thierry created Boutsen Aviation with his wife. She was responsible for the backend while Thierry’s knowledge and charm were suited to the frontend.
They have since had four children, sold 380 airplanes and have the honour of being classified as the official private jet supplier of the Palace, first for Prince Rainier III of Monaco and now for Prince Albert II.
When Daniela was asked by a client to decorate two new Airbus through Boutsen Aviation, she was handed an opportunity to return to the world of design and arts de la table, to where it all began in that historic porcelain warehouse in Berlin.
“As I knew a lot about aviation and aircraft safety, I began to build my own company around my expertise in aviation and design,” says Daniela.
As a specialist in her field, Daniela’s business quickly expanded and she soon found herself decorating large new-build aircraft for the rich and famous. “Around 80% to 85% of my clients are heads of state, royal family members, or High Net Worth Individuals. There are very few design companies who are specialised in aviation. I even wrote my own engineering software for calculations etc, so it was really tailor made to aviation.”
After gaining solid experience in aviation, Daniela made the relatively “easy” slide to yachting, where her technical expertise and precision were greatly appreciated. “A yacht for a client is more their private jewel, while airplanes are their business tool. They are also more generous with their yachts and there are less technical restrictions in yachting. It is the same client profile but a different approach.”
Daniela moved from “loose” decoration to “fixed” decoration, then to deco refits. Over the past two years, she and her team have worked on everything from a 32-metre boat to an 80-metre yacht, a market that she enjoys because it is “short and intense”. They have just finished a major refit of the 68-metre Oceanco yacht My Luna B managed by KK Superyachts, in Port Hercules, bringing the unique artistic interior up to date while maintaining the integrity of the design.
Daniela’s team has grown to include a decoration and a design department. In addition to the headquarters and showroom in Monaco, they have a store at Nice Côte d’Azur airport inside the Business Aviation Terminal and a logistics centre for in-house quality control on all of their merchandise.
But still, the incredibly entrepreneurial, deeply committed Daniela Boutsen continues to expand her company. “Last year, we also started working on residential projects. I like to say that we are a nice hybrid between design and decoration. We can have full, 360° involvement in the entire process. We start with a white sheet of paper and follow through until a flower is put in a vase in the bathroom. Or, you can simply buy glassware from our showroom,” reveals the designer.
So, where does her inspiration come from? “My inspiration comes from artists like Wassily Kandinsky, who was great at explaining that a blank white sheet of paper is not just a blank white sheet of paper; there are proportions, dimensions, shadows…”
Most recently, Daniela’s blank white sheet of paper was a brand new 250 sqm showroom apartment at Le Winch complex on boulevard Albert 1er opposite Port Hercules. The subsequent tour I received (stay tuned for this story) revealed Daniela’s keen artistic eye and ability to combine opulence and simplicity, modernity and comfort. Le Winch showroom apartment decorated by Daniela Boutsen
For someone who clearly has her finger on the pulse of design, I am intrigued to know what she considers to be the hot new design trends. “We are seeing a lot of new technologies involved in design now,” answers Daniela. “Design and technology were once separate, but they are much more integrated and it is becoming more important for clients. For example, all the technology we saw in aviation and yachts is now going into houses. It is quite an interesting process.”
Durable, sustainable materials are also becoming more important, Daniela tells me, as society considers its ecological footprint and responsibility to the planet. “I ask my team to look for sustainable materials, so we can propose wood for example that is sourced from sustainable cultivation practices. I see a lot of products coming onto the market and I see a mentality change happening, and I want to be a part of it.”
So, what’s next for Boutsen Design? “I would like to do hotels next… that is next level” she smiles.
It appears as though Daniela Boutsen still has a few more chapters left to write in her story.
Top photo: Daniela Boutsen on My Luna B
Call for large scale testing among teachers and students
With less than a week before school starts, the National Council is calling on the Government to conduct another mass Covid screening campaign among teaching staff and students.
The National Council issued a statement on Tuesday 1st September, saying “many parents of students as well as the educational community express concern about the conditions for returning to class, which to date are imprecise. It appears necessary that all staff and students should be the subject of a vast screening campaign.”
The council, which serves to “relay the concerns and the legitimate needs of Monegasques and residents”, also addressed the current testing limitations in the Principality, adding: “…health professionals and the population are finding it difficult to access PCR tests in the Principality and obtain results within acceptable deadlines. The National Council regrets that we are not testing enough and obviously with too long delays, both for the sample and for obtaining the result (sometimes more than seven days).”
On Friday 28th August, the government said it was boosting analysis capacity by 300 per week and is awaiting the delivery of a fast testing device in November. “Compared to other European states,” said the government, “Monaco’s sampling capacity relative to its population is more than double that of Belgium, France, Germany or Iceland and four times that of Switzerland or Italy.”
However, it was not enough to allay the concerns of the council, who said on Tuesday: “Government communication and its successive announcements in terms of PCR tests cannot mask the gap with the lack of resources observed in the field today. In addition, relying on comparison statistics with the large neighbouring countries is not satisfactory, especially if one takes into account the urban demographic density and the financial means of the Monegasque State.”
The council also raised concerns that the Covid-19 Joint Monitoring Committee, formed at the end of March, had not met in a month.
“In recent weeks, the health situation in the Principality has deteriorated significantly. Daily figures released by the Government show a sharp increase in the number of positive people and several establishments have been closed for health reasons. This particularly worrying situation comes in the context of an upsurge in cases in the Alpes-Maritimes, now classified as a red zone. However, since 28th July, the Government has no longer convened the Joint Monitoring Committee.”
The council has now requested an emergency meeting of the committee when it also plans to discuss the stimulus and support measures for economic players and employees of the Principality.
“Faced with a deteriorating health situation, the elected representatives of the National Council want our country more than ever to serve as a model. They consider that this is not yet the case, neither for access to PCR tests, nor in anticipation of measures to be implemented for the return to work and school.”
Last week, a new Sovereign Ordinance was published establishing new rules with regard to quarantine measures for visitors and returnees into the Principality.
The original quarantine rules, which came out on 24th February, have recently been modified to reflect the current Covid-19 situation in Monaco.
As it stands, any person diagnosed with the coronavirus will be quarantined until they are recovered. Now, any person who arrives into the country from a high-risk area or is showing signs of infection may also be subject to a 14-day quarantine during the usual incubation period of the virus.
In general, those considered to be coming from risky places are anyone who lives outside the European Union, with the notable exceptions of visitors from Andorra, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Switzerland, Vatican City and the United Kingdom, though the quarantine-free countries are subject to change at any time.
For example, if any of the aforementioned nations find their country in a situation where there is a cumulative incidence over a two-week period of 60 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, the quarantine for those from that country will be put in place.
People can be exempt from the quarantine if they present a negative PCR test that had been carried out in the previous 72 hours before arrival.
AS Monaco has reached an agreement with Atletico de Madrid for 23-year-old midfielder Caio Henrique Oliveira Silva who will play for the team on a five-year contract.
The Red and White’s newest team member, Caio Henrique, is a Brazilian midfielder who came out of Santos FC Academy and was recruited by Atletico de Madrid in 2016 at the tender age of 18.
Soon after, he was loaned back to his native country to gain a bit of experience and playing time where he played on the Brazilian Under 23 International team in 2019. His team, Fluminense FC, went to the quarterfinals of the Copa Sudamericana, and he had a large part in getting them there.
Before he landed in Monaco, Caio had played almost 80 professional games and 20 games in under 20 and under 23 league games.
As for joining the Red and Whites, Caio Henrique is ready to make his mark, saying, “I am very happy to start this new adventure with AS Monaco. I’m joining a very ambitious club that is internationally recognised and respected for its history and track record. I am impatient to join my teammates but also to play in the French league which is very popular in Brazil.”
AS Monaco Vice-President and CEO Oleg Petrov has welcomed the young player, recognising his talents and clocking him as a good fit.
“We are delighted to welcome Caio Henrique to AS Monaco, whose arrival is part of our desire to strengthen the competitiveness of the first team,” Mr Petrov said in a club statement. “Spotted at a very young age by a top European club, Caio has developed his qualities and acquired significant experience in Brazil by playing nearly one hundred matches at the highest national and international level. He will find at AS Monaco all the elements necessary to continue his progress and help the club to achieve its goals.”
Photo: AS Monaco
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