What to Know About the Business Execs With Mike Lynch on His Yacht

The corporate world reeled this week after a superyacht carrying the British software mogul Mike Lynch, his family and associates an others sank on Monday during a violent storm off the coast of Sicily.

Of the 22 people on the yacht, 15 were rescued and seven bodies were recovered, including that of Mr. Lynch, an official in the Italian city of Palermo confirmed. The bodies of two other prominent business figures — Christopher J. Morvillo, a top white-collar defense lawyer, and Jonathan Bloomer, the chairman of Morgan Stanley International — were among those recovered.

Others who were missing but whose bodies have now been recovered are Hannah Lynch, Mr. Lynch’s 18-year-old daughter; Mr. Morvillo’s wife, Neda Morvillo; and Mr. Bloomer’s wife, Judy Bloomer. The body of the ship’s cook, Recaldo Thomas, was recovered on Monday.

Christopher Morvillo

Mr. Morvillo, 59, was a partner at Clifford Chance, the international law firm. He was a scion of a prominent family of New York litigators: His father, Robert, was a top federal prosecutor in New York turned star white-collar defense lawyer, whose clients included Martha Stewart. His brothers and uncle also practice law.

Mr. Morvillo followed in his father’s footsteps, first becoming a federal prosecutor in New York, whose cases included several tied to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and the successful conviction of Lynne Stewart, a lawyer known for representing terrorists.

In 2005, he went to work for his father’s firm, now known as Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello, where he worked alongside his brothers. Mr. Morvillo left in 2011 to join Clifford Chance as a partner. A year later, he began representing Mr. Lynch, who had been accused of deceiving Hewlett-Packard after it acquired his software company, Autonomy.

So started his long association with Mr. Lynch, as the accusations against the British executive led to a nearly 13-year legal battle on two continents. Mr. Lynch was charged with fraud by prosecutors in San Francisco, found liable in a lawsuit filed by HP in Britain and extradited to the United States last year, ahead of his criminal trial there.

“It’s covered one-third of my career,” Mr. Morvillo told the podcast “For the Defense” in an episode that aired this month, referring to the case. “It has been a constant presence in my life.”

Mr. Lynch was acquitted by a federal jury in June. In a LinkedIn post published shortly afterward, Mr. Morvillo celebrated the verdict, concluding the message with “And they all lived happily ever after ….”

Clifford Chance said in a statement on Thursday, “We are heartbroken at the tragic passing of our partner, Christopher Morvillo and his wife, Neda.”

Jonathan Bloomer

Mr. Bloomer, 70, was a British financial services executive who, over the course of decades, became a fixture of the London insurance sector.

After starting at the now-defunct accounting firm Arthur Andersen, where he became a partner, Mr. Bloomer joined the insurer Prudential (no relation to the American insurance provider Prudential Financial) as chief financial officer. Mr. Bloomer became chief executive in 2000.

He stepped down five years later, after having drawn criticism from investors for cutting the insurer’s dividend, making a failed bid for a rival and raising money after saying such a move was unnecessary.

Mr. Bloomer took on other prominent business roles, including chairman of several British companies. He also joined the board of Autonomy, where he headed the audit committee. That role later led to his testifying at Mr. Lynch’s criminal trial this year, where he told the jury that the technology executive did not play a role in the company’s day-to-day operations.

In 2018, Mr. Bloomer became chairman of Morgan Stanley International, the Wall Street bank’s European arm, and last year was named chairman of Hiscox, a British insurer.

“We are deeply saddened by this tragic news,” Ted Pick, Morgan Stanley’s chief executive, said in a statement on Thursday. “Jonathan’s leadership and experience helped the firm manage a period of complex change for our international businesses.”