Combining innovation and exploration to tackle the great challenges of our time

It is in Bertrand Piccard’s DNA to go beyond the obvious and achieve the impossible. From a legendary lineage of explorers who conquered the stratosphere and the abysses, he made history by accomplishing two aeronautical firsts, around the world non-stop in a balloon, and more recently in a solar plane without fuel. Pioneer in his way to consider ecology through the lens of profitability, he began working in the early 2000s to promote renewable energies and clean technologies. His dual identity as a psychiatrist and explorer makes him an influential voice heard by the largest institutions which today consider him as a forward-thinking leader on the themes of innovation and sustainability. Founder and Chairman of the Solar Impulse Foundation, he has succeeded in his mission to select 1000 efficient solutions to protect the environment in a profitable way. In a third round the world tour, he will bring them to decision-makers in order to help them meet their environmental targets while ensuring clean economic growth.

Bertrand Piccard is now United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for the Environment and Special Advisor to the European Commission.