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Month: July 2021

8th Monaco Energy Boat Challenge draws to a close

by: Staff Writer
12/07/2021

A week brimming with events, exchanges, races, successes and setbacks, triumphs and disappointments at the Monaco Energy Boat Challenge reached a peak on the final day with an endurance challenge and speed duels – more than enough to push the 32 teams in all three classes to the limits of their sporting and intellectual resources one more time.
There to see them on 10th July were HSH Prince Albert II with his distinguished guest, the explorer Mike Horn, coming both to support participants and find out more about all the innovations presented during the week, on the sea and ashore in the exhibitors’ village.
The Open Sea Class faced their toughest endurance test yet, as they had to prove, by racking up laps on a circa three nautical mile course, their capacity to go the distance, as far and as long as possible throughout the day. Hynova pulled off the best performance, almost equal on points with the Candela team, the Tenderworks team having been disqualified for breaking the rules despite their excellent result with 20 laps completed, the equivalent of a return trip to Cannes.
For those in the Energy and Solar classes, the morning was spent on a spectacular timed with elimination slalom event. No surprise to see Sunflare Solar Team triumph ahead of the Swiss students from Lausanne’s EPLV on their foiling Swiss Solar Boat, and the Dutch students on HAN Solar Boat. In the Energy Class, the Italians with their Uniboat dominated as they had done all week, to consolidate their position ahead of the Monegasque E-Racing Team and the students from Capgemini Engineering.
The afternoon was dedicated to the ‘Championship Race’, as the eight fastest boats in the qualifying heats on Thursday went head to head in the quarter, semi and finals inside the marina. This comprised spectacular duels on an inner loop-outer loop course that delighted both participants and the crowds gathered to watch on Quai Louis II. In the Solar Class, Sunflare again showed its superiority, beating the Lausanne EPLV Swiss team’s prao with the best of three races. In the Energy Boat Class, the Bologna University students consolidated their success, their hydrogen prototype winning the final ahead of the Monegasque E-Racing Team.
At the end of this final super intense day, all participants were invited to attend the prize-giving where several prizes were up for grabs, both for results at sea in each Class, awarded by Race Director, and for the presentations on land during the daily Tech Talks, as well as those of the exhibitors by an International Jury of experts chaired by Jérémie Lagarrigue, CEO of EODev. In all,there was a total of 10 awards.
 
 
 
Text by the Yacht Club de Monaco
 
 

ArtPeople launch

by: Stephanie Horsman
12/07/2021

As part of Monaco Art week, Monaco start-up ArtPeople has launched a digital platform for connecting collectors and buyers in a whole new way.

The ArtPeople digital platform is giving art lovers an online alternative to viewing and buying pieces, highlighting the extraordinary growth of this once-niche market of the art sales world.

Founder Jeremy Biermann, architect and art enthusiast, started ArtPeople after designing numerous exhibition stands for galleries at international fairs such as Design Miami/Basel, Masterpiece London, and PAD London, collaborating with his wife Deborah who worked for a prestigious auction house and ran a gallery in Monaco.

Jeremy saw a gap in the art world that was expounded by the restrictions the pandemic imposed on face-to-face meetings and travel, and created ArtPeople to fill in that blank spot.

“In the digital age, our professional experience has allowed us to understand the most important element in this market: trust, in particular between collectors, dealers, specialists and service providers,” says Jeremy Biermann. “Our mission was to make the art world prosper in a new digital reality where Internet users do not limit themselves to consulting information but actively contribute to its creation.”

Member collectors have access to a directory of services in addition to the pieces themselves that include finding framers, insurers, experts and transport companies, whilst art world professionals now have the ability to reach out to collectors and service providers at an unprecedented level to increase visibility and expand their markets.

Based on the LinkedIn model, users of the platform can also share their experiences and opinions, complete with rating systems, and can create and schedule online or real-time events, make appointments, and create their own profile.

 
 
Photo supplied
 
 
 

Monaco Art Week highlights two creative talents

by: Stephanie Horsman
12/07/2021

Gallerists Daniel Boeri and Magdalena Gabriel are hosting a cocktail reception during Monaco Art Week to celebrate the works of Bolivian artist Sonia Falcone and French artist Pierre Bonnefille.
Monaco Art Week is sure to be filled with amazing art works and even more amazing events. One such event is the Daniel Boeri and Magdalena Gabriel cocktail party and exhibition being put on in honour of two artists with unique and very different styles.
The first artist showcased is Bolivian-born Sonia Falcone and her work called Royal Love. The creation was made using a plant found in the Bolivian Amazon rainforest that has been transformed into a golden sculpture on a striking black base.
According to Gabriel, “The visually-spectacular piece reminds us that nature’s beauty, creativity and vitality will always match and inspire the creations of man, and that some of the most precious gifts we receive can emerge from the earth itself.”
Falcone, a former Miss Bolivia International winner, is also an avid activist who incorporates her social awareness into her art. Her work has been exhibited in London, New York, Boston, Miami, Washington, Dublin, Moscow, Venice, Phoenix, Monterrey, La Paz, Santa Cruz, Bogota, Cabo San Lucas, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo, Beijing and now Monaco.
 
Her counterpart in the event is French Artist Pierre Bonnefille, whose use of carbons, mineral powders, lava, marble and other raw materials mixed with metallics and natural pigments in his work give the illusion of unctuous materials with fluid surfaces, changing with every movement of light.
Bonnefille grew up in Saint-Quentin, on France’s wild northwest Bretagne coast. His exhibit is called Cortexand it is inspired by shells and beetles that the artist studied in detail before creating a dozen unique boxes.
The boxes represent beetle shells, encasing precious objects inside with beautiful, fluid colours and textures on the outside.
“I want to keep specific visions in mind, I try to capture them and recreate them in my studio,” he says. “Through every creation, I look for a particular vibration of the materials.”
The cocktail reception will be held on Tuesday 13th July at Daniel Boeri and Magdalena Gabriel from 5:30pm to 8pm. The exhibition will be viewable daily from 13th to 18th July, from 3pm to 9pm or by appointment at the gallery.
 
Top photo: Sonia Falcone, Royal Love. 
 
 

World leads set at Herculis EBS

by: Stephanie Horsman
12/07/2021

It was an exciting day in athletics as Kenyan world champion Timothy Cheruiyot, Botswana’s Nijel Amos and Ethiopina Lamecha Girma all set world lead times at the Herculis Diamond League at Stade Louis II, whilst Faith Kipyegon from Kenya set the world lead for the ladies in the 1,500m.
Friday saw some amazing track and field action at the Herculis Diamond League event, giving fans a taste of what to expect in Toyko in the coming weeks at the Olympic Games.
Reigning world champion Timothy Cheruiyot, who is currently not eligible to race for his country in the Olympics, won the 1,500m with a time of 3:28.28, shaving a minuscule amount off his personal best time of 3:28.41. Spain’s Mohamed Katir and Jakob Ingebrigtsen from Norway rounded out the podium.
“Today’s race was good and I won it for the third time,” he said in an interview with Athletics Weekly. “I missed competition a lot after spending a lot of time in Kenya where I had a few issues like my hamstring injury and after also losing a relative in my family on the day of the Kenyan trials, explaining why I missed out on making the team. Hopefully that will be the deciding performance to make the team for Tokyo. My hope now is to be in another Olympics, that is where my mindset is and I will be very happy if I achieve that.”
The men’s 800m saw another world lead by Nijel Amos from Botswana, who was the silver medal winner in the London Olympic Games in 2012, with a time of 1:42.91. Emmaunuel Kipkurui Korir from Kenya placed second and Marco Arop took third.
The 400m men’s hurdles was won by Norwegian Karsten Warholm, with the silver and bronze going to Alison Dos Santos from Brazil and Rasmus Mägi from Estonia respectively.
The 3,000m Steeplechase saw Ethiopian Lamecha Girma place first with a time of 8:07.75 followed by Kenya’s Abraham Kibiwot and France’s Djilali Bedrani.
The 100m sprint went to American Ronnie Baker with a zippy time of 9.91. Russian Akani Simbine was close behind in second, and third place went to Italy’s Lamont Marcell Jacobs.
The high jump winner for men was Russian Mikhail Akimenko going 2.32 metres, and the long jump went to Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou who leapt 8.24 metres.
The women’s 1,500m was dominated by Faith Kipyegon from Kenya who has a world lead time of 3:51.07, followed by Sifan Hassan from the Netherlands and Ethiopian Freweyni Hailu in third.
The 800m event saw Brit Laura Muir take the top spot, with compatriot Jemma Reekie taking silver and American Kate Grace getting the bronze.
The 200m women’s event was won by the Bahama’s Shaunae Miller-Uibo, followed by Côte Ivoirian Marie-Josée Ta Lou and Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Frasier-Price.
The 3,000m steeplechase found a winner in Kenya’s Hyvin Kiyeng. Fellow country woman Beatrice Chepkoech came second and Bahraini Winifred Yavi was third.
The top spot in pole vaulting went to American Katie Nageotte, with second and third going to Russian Anzhelika Sidorova and Greek Katerina Stefanidi.
Women’s triple jump saw Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts come out on top, with Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas in second and Patricia Mamona from Portugal in third.
Finally, the javelin throw was won by Czech Barbora Špotáková, with Poland’s Maria Andrejczyk taking silver and German Christin Hussong taking the bronze.
 
 
Photo of Timothy Cheruiyot, source: Diamond League
 
 

Monaco ramps up Zero Butts campaign

by: Stephanie Horsman
10/07/2021

Monaco Zero Butts is back again this summer featuring a new format and supported by the government’s ban on smoking at beaches.

Monaco City Hall, Société Monégasque d’Assainissement (SMA) and the Tourism and Congress Department (DTC) are again on the case this summer to try and rid the Principality of improperly discarded cigarette butts.

Called Monaco Zero Butts, the summer campaign aims to dissuade tourists and locals from polluting the beaches and streets with megots, as they are called in French.

This summer’s operation is boosted by the government’s latest decision to make Monaco’s beaches non-smoking, including the removal of self-service ashtrays and distributors on Solarium Beach and the newly-reopened Larvotto Beach.

So as not to encourage the disposal of stubs on the ground, teams from SMA and hosts and hostesses from DTC will alternate turns, distributing vessels to get rid of butts in dedicated smoker’s areas on the promenade of Larvotto. In addition to having receptacles available, they will also be on hand to educate, through awareness, the harmful effects of cigarette butts and other waste that litters the sea.

Pocket ashtrays will also be offered to the public at shops on Larvotto, in several DTC information kiosks and at municipal sites such as the Stade Nautique Rainier III, City Hall, Espace Leo Ferre and the Media Library. Additionally, road workers will also have ashtrays on hand and will be distribute them upon request.

Monaco Zero Butts is but one programme put forth by the City Hall to encourage eco-friendly habits and keep Monaco pollution-free.

 
 
 

Fintech KeeSystem announces merger

by: Stephanie Horsman
09/07/2021

Monegasque company Fintech KeeSystem, which specialises in digital tools dedicated to wealth management for independent companies and family offices around the world, is extending its shareholding with Ebene, the Luxembourg-based holding company of the Dalmaz family.

Pierre Dalmaz’s family holding company Ebene has just acquired 75% of the shares of Monaco-based Fintech KeeSystem from Chairman and Founder Pierre-Alexandre Rousselot. Rousselot will continue to manage and develop KeeSystem with their new partner’s support.

Founded in 2009, fintech KeeSystem was a pioneer start-up of MonacoTech, the incubator created by Xavier Niel, Monaco Telecom and the Prince’s government, to meet the needs of wealth managers while preparing the expanded digital world of the future.

Since its inception, KeeSystem, Monaco’s first wealthtech, has continued to expand to other major financial centres in Switzerland, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, Russia and Brazil, and today boasts an annual turnover of roughly €2 million.

The company seat remains Monaco-based while operations are carried out in Switzerland, where they digitise the daily management of independent wealth management companies and family offices to streamline operations.

Their software is said to improve management efficiency in terms of services provided, profitability and development of user activities. It is a digital asset management solution known for its qualities and ease of integration and allows users to consolidate and analyse in real time all the securities portfolios deposited in client’s banks. This gives them a visualisation of the cash flow and the exposure of their portfolios.

“KeeSystem’s mission is to empower each user quickly, in order to capitalise on the investment as quickly as possible,” says Pierre-Alexandre Rousselot, founder of KeeSystem. “To do this, we ensure the transfer of skills through various educational supports, such as training, workshops and tutorials.”

The wealthtech industry is a fast-grower, with the sector more than tripling since 2016 from $2.8 billion to $9.3 billion at the end of 2020.

Ebene, for its part, operates in four areas of activity in France and internationally, which are IT consulting, IT publishing, expertise in industrial and real estate assets and hotels.

“I am very satisfied to welcome KeeSystem to the Ebene Group,” Pierre Dalmaz, President of Ebene, said of the merger. “It has a successful financial solution benefiting from the latest innovative technologies which will enable wealth managers and family offices to be more efficient thanks to the management of their assets, provided by KeeSense. This technology fills a proven need to bring these structures directly into the digital world. Prospects will be reassured about the longevity of Kee System, which backs on to the Ebene family group, which achieves a booming turnover of €100 million.”

The feeling is clearly mutual, with Rousselot adding: “I am happy to join the Ebene Group to be able to accelerate the development of KeeSystem with its team which already has extensive experience in this field. KeeSystem already has a solid foundation of about 30 customers and KeeSense meets their needs very well. Our desire for growth should be driven by the potential of the wealth management market. Our goal is to triple our turnover and the number of clients internationally over the next five years in countries where wealth management is most active. I look forward to this new challenge.”

 
 
Photo of KeeSystem Chairman and Founder Pierre-Alexandre Rousselot