A Swiss Aviator
Psychiatrist and explorer, Bertrand Piccard made history by accomplishing two aeronautical firsts – flying around the world non-stop in a balloon, and more recently in a solar powered airplane plane without fuel. Pioneer in his way to look at ecology through the lens of profitability, he began working in the early 2000s to promote renewable energies and clean technologies. As Chairman of the Solar Impulse Foundation, he has succeeded in his mission to select 1000 profitable solutions to protect the environment and support clean growth.
Please note that the views in this interview are expressed by the individual and not on behalf of Rothschild & Co. This interview was conducted by Laura Künlen of Rothschild & Co Wealth Management Switzerland.
Q1
How did your family and upbringing shape your life?
All of my family members inspired me: my father who dived to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, my grandfather, who undertook the first flight in the stratosphere, my mother who opened up areas of personal and spiritual development for me. There's one particular story I remember from my childhood, when I went to the cinema to see Walt Disney's "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea"[1]. I recall looking at my father, who was sitting next to me, and thinking "I have a Captain Nemo at home!" In the 1960s, when we were living in Florida because my father was building a submarine for a company that was making NASA's lunar module, I was able to attend several Apollo rocket launches. Here, I met not only astronauts from the Mercury, Gemini or Apollo programmes but also Wernher von Braun, Charles Lindbergh and Jacques Mayol. Being in contact with all these adventurers gave me a clear vision: I too wanted to have a life of exploration.
While I inherited my curiosity to explore the outside world from my father, I inherited my inner curiosity from my mother. My mother was very interested in exploring the inner world by learning all about oriental philosophies, spirituality and psychology. I also wanted to explore this world and understand what makes a human being blossom or become depressed, succeed or fail. Simply said, I wanted to understand the functioning of the human mind and nature. That's why I became a psychiatrist and psychotherapist. But I didn't stop there, I also wanted to explore things that were not taught at medical school. This is why I studied hypnosis, Taoism and traditional Chinese medicine. What captivated me the most was the notion of the consciousness of the moment, and I wanted to find out how to use this sensation of being alive in one's body at the present moment in psychotherapy. That's also how I conducted my therapies and treatments to help my patients regain awareness of themselves, reach their potential and understand their inner world, their abilities as well as their emotions.
[1] Directed by Richard Fleischer, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is about a ship that is sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings and which encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.
Timeline of Piccard family
1958
His mother's philosophical and spiritual heritage
Bertrand's deep conversations with his mother, Marie-Claude, a pastor's daughter, opened up new areas for him to explore: personal development, the spiritual search, the need to seek answers without having pre-conceived ideas or being wedded to dogmas.
A childhood in Florida
I remember exactly the moment when I decided to become an explorer. It was July 1969, I was 11 years old, and my father had just boarded the "Ben Franklin Mesoscaphe", which he had designed to study the Gulf Stream. He was going to drift for a month 3,000 km along the East Coast of America. A few days later, I watched in amazement as Apollo 11 took off for the moon.
Born on 1st March in Lausanne (Switzerland)
His father's scientific heritage, emphasizing the protection of the environment
Most children grow up hearing their parents tell them fairy tales. But for Bertrand, it was stories about exploration, a topic on which Bertrand Piccard had some authorities to turn to:"My grandfather had an Explorers Club card, so did my father, why not me?”
His mother's philosophical and spiritual heritage
Bertrand's deep conversations with his mother, Marie-Claude, a pastor's daughter, opened up new areas for him to explore: personal development, the spiritual search, the need to seek answers without having pre-conceived ideas or being wedded to dogmas.
Born on 1st March in Lausanne (Switzerland)
His father's scientific heritage, emphasizing the protection of the environment
Most children grow up hearing their parents tell them fairy tales. But for Bertrand, it was stories about exploration, a topic on which Bertrand Piccard had some authorities to turn to:"My grandfather had an Explorers Club card, so did my father, why not me?”
A childhood in Florida
I remember exactly the moment when I decided to become an explorer. It was July 1969, I was 11 years old, and my father had just boarded the "Ben Franklin Mesoscaphe", which he had designed to study the Gulf Stream. He was going to drift for a month 3,000 km along the East Coast of America. A few days later, I watched in amazement as Apollo 11 took off for the moon.
1969
« I will never forget the moment I saw the Apollo 11 rocket take off for the moon. I was 11 years old. My thought at the time: These astronauts have a dream that's bigger than their fear of failing. They are heroes daring the impossible. They are undertaking something that no man has ever done before. This is the pioneering spirit. It was at that moment that I knew I wanted to become an explorer. »
At Cape Canaveral, Bertrand was present at the lift-off of six of the Apollo missions. He was invited by Wernher von Braun, the inventor of the Apollo rockets and a family friend, and he was lucky enough to meet the astronauts on the lunar program. Bertrand dreamed of following in the footsteps of these pioneers. The exploration virus has never left him since...
At Cape Canaveral, Bertrand was present at the lift-off of six of the Apollo missions. He was invited by Wernher von Braun, the inventor of the Apollo rockets and a family friend, and he was lucky enough to meet the astronauts on the lunar program. Bertrand dreamed of following in the footsteps of these pioneers. The exploration virus has never left him since...
« I will never forget the moment I saw the Apollo 11 rocket take off for the moon. I was 11 years old. My thought at the time: These astronauts have a dream that's bigger than their fear of failing. They are heroes daring the impossible. They are undertaking something that no man has ever done before. This is the pioneering spirit. It was at that moment that I knew I wanted to become an explorer. »
1974
European hang-gliding pioneer
Bertrand is sixteen and dedicated to his passion. Bertrand quickly masters this discipline and faces up to risk in extreme situations.
1985
European Hang-Gliding Aerobatics Champion, and numerous “firsts” in Ultralights
1974
European hang-gliding pioneer
Bertrand is sixteen and dedicated to his passion. Bertrand quickly masters this discipline and faces up to risk in extreme situations.
1985
European Hang-Gliding Aerobatics Champion, and numerous “firsts” in Ultralights
1986 - 1996
Even more than the exhilaration of aerobatics, what fascinated Bertrand most was his observation that higher levels of consciousness emerged at the most intense moments of his flights. This is what led him to become a psychiatrist.
Bertrand became a Doctor of medicine and a hypnotherapist, specializing in adult and child psychiatry and psychotherapy.
Bertrand drew from his medical studies the humanistic values that would be fundamental references during his life as an explorer. Having mastered hypnosis, he put it to use during his exploration missions, to increase his level of vigilance and manage fatigue when at the controls of the Solar Impulse airplane and his Breitling Orbiter balloon.
Even more than the exhilaration of aerobatics, what fascinated Bertrand most was his observation that higher levels of consciousness emerged at the most intense moments of his flights. This is what led him to become a psychiatrist.
Bertrand became a Doctor of medicine and a hypnotherapist, specializing in adult and child psychiatry and psychotherapy.
Bertrand drew from his medical studies the humanistic values that would be fundamental references during his life as an explorer. Having mastered hypnosis, he put it to use during his exploration missions, to increase his level of vigilance and manage fatigue when at the controls of the Solar Impulse airplane and his Breitling Orbiter balloon.
1992
Victory in the 1st transatlantic balloon race – the Chrysler Challenge - would change Bertrand’s life and modify his approach to existence.
“ For the first time, I no longer feel any duality; I feel suddenly that I can reconcile everything - my own path in life and that of my family, aviation and medicine, science and and take away the "BP"
A foretaste of the flight around the world...
1992
Victory in the 1st transatlantic balloon race – the Chrysler Challenge - would change Bertrand’s life and modify his approach to existence.
“ For the first time, I no longer feel any duality; I feel suddenly that I can reconcile everything - my own path in life and that of my family, aviation and medicine, science and and take away the "BP"
A foretaste of the flight around the world...
1999
Having initiated the project in 1994, he took the controls of the Breitling Orbiter balloon six years later in March 1999 and, with his teammate Brian Jones, completed the first non-stop around-the-world balloon flight, at the same time achieving the longest flight ever, for both duration and distance, in the history of aviation.
An historic first 45,000 km in 20 days – 7 world records
Landing in the Egyptian desert after years of efforts, the doubts that followed the two previous attempts, competition with other teams chasing this holy grail, this was the great adventure of the twentieth century.
A madman’s dream: around the world without any fuel His fear of not having enough fuel to complete his challenge made Bertrand start thinking about another trip around the world - this time in a solar airplane, needing no fossil fuels. Solar Impulse was born from this vision.
Having initiated the project in 1994, he took the controls of the Breitling Orbiter balloon six years later in March 1999 and, with his teammate Brian Jones, completed the first non-stop around-the-world balloon flight, at the same time achieving the longest flight ever, for both duration and distance, in the history of aviation.
An historic first 45,000 km in 20 days – 7 world records
Landing in the Egyptian desert after years of efforts, the doubts that followed the two previous attempts, competition with other teams chasing this holy grail, this was the great adventure of the twentieth century.
A madman’s dream: around the world without any fuel His fear of not having enough fuel to complete his challenge made Bertrand start thinking about another trip around the world - this time in a solar airplane, needing no fossil fuels. Solar Impulse was born from this vision.
1999 to the present
Bertrand is actively involved in supporting humanitarian causes and launching campaigns in the field. To fight noma, a rapidly advancing gangrene that develops in the mouth, he created the Winds of Hope Foundation and brought together most of the associations active in the fight against this disease in the International NoNoma. He was also an Ambassador of the United Nations Population Fund for 12 years.
1999 to the present
Bertrand is actively involved in supporting humanitarian causes and launching campaigns in the field. To fight noma, a rapidly advancing gangrene that develops in the mouth, he created the Winds of Hope Foundation and brought together most of the associations active in the fight against this disease in the International NoNoma. He was also an Ambassador of the United Nations Population Fund for 12 years.
2015 – 2016
A feat combining science and progress with respect for the planet
No one believes Bertrand when he begins to talk about his plan for perpetual flight in a solar airplane. Well, almost nobody, because he did find support from the EPFL, which carried out a feasibility study. His meeting with André Borschberg, his future partner, would also prove to be decisive.
A « first » in the history of energy
Abu Dhabi, July 2016: 43,000 km flown without a drop of fuel - a first in the history of aviation but above all a first in the history of energy. And what if this hope were to take hold in our society?
A pioneering vision for the promotion of clean technologies
Bertrand developed the forward-looking philosophy behind the project and sketched out its symbolic and societal significance.
A feat combining science and progress with respect for the planet
No one believes Bertrand when he begins to talk about his plan for perpetual flight in a solar airplane. Well, almost nobody, because he did find support from the EPFL, which carried out a feasibility study. His meeting with André Borschberg, his future partner, would also prove to be decisive.
A pioneering vision for the promotion of clean technologies
Bertrand developed the forward-looking philosophy behind the project and sketched out its symbolic and societal significance.
A « first » in the history of energy
Abu Dhabi, July 2016: 43,000 km flown without a drop of fuel - a first in the history of aviation but above all a first in the history of energy. And what if this hope were to take hold in our society?
1000 solutions to change the world
With his Challenge of #1000 Solutions, Bertrand Piccard and the Solar Impulse Foundation want to highlight the industrial opportunities offered by efforts to resolve climate change.
Bertrand Piccard promotes quality growth by demonstrating the enormous potential cost savings of clean technologies. In a third trip around the world, he hopes to present these clean and profitable solutions to decision-makers, encouraging them to adopt more ambitious energy policies and environmental objectives.
1000 solutions to change the world
With his Challenge of #1000 Solutions, Bertrand Piccard and the Solar Impulse Foundation want to highlight the industrial opportunities offered by efforts to resolve climate change.
Bertrand Piccard promotes quality growth by demonstrating the enormous potential cost savings of clean technologies. In a third trip around the world, he hopes to present these clean and profitable solutions to decision-makers, encouraging them to adopt more ambitious energy policies and environmental objectives.