A leader in pioneering technologies, André enjoys sharing his experiences as a speaker and lending his point of view on topics ranging from ‘Making the Impossible, Possible’; ‘The Pivot Point from Explorer to Leader’; to ‘From Vision to Reality’; and, ‘Turning Obstacles into Opportunities’.
Today, he is looking ahead: as a leader of the team that conceived, designed and built Solar Impulse, the first airplane able to fly day and night without any fuel. Currently, André is one of two pilots, with Bertrand Piccard, alternating flying Solar Impulse around the world. André leads the evolution of the plane’s technology into new, complex engineering solutions that will serve and transform a number of industries. As one example, his team is driving toward the development of long-endurance, high- altitude solar drones that could fly for extended periods of time (e.g. 6 months non stop) in the stratosphere, providing measurement, observation and communication services through technology that is more flexible, sustainable and less expensive to that used in conventional satellites.
André contributes as a mentor and by driving initiatives as a member of the World Presidents’ and the Young Presidents’ Organizations and speaks frequently at leadership forums such as the World Economic Forum. He also received a Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Mons in Belgium and was decorated with the Wissam Al Alaoui distinction from the King of Morocco and the Swiss, British and French Governments’ Medal for Aeronautics.
A builder of companies and value at the edge of the known and the possible, André enjoys deep respect and loyalty from his teams for his strategic thinking and leadership. He’s valued for his ability to unite an enormous diversity of talent, personalities and expertise around a higher goal; for bringing out the full potential of all his collaborators; for his accountability, leadership and perspective in periods of high risk and misfortune; and for his investment in individuals to tap their deeper drives and achieve broader personal goals through the team’s shared mission.
Serendipity brought him in contact with Bertrand in 2003. While taking a break from an extended career in entrepreneurship and devoting his time to social work, André met the dean of the Engineering faculty of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Switzerland’s leading technology university, who told him about Bertrand and his plan to fly around the world using only renewable energy.. When the request came for him to help lead the seemingly impossible mission – to create the plane and help fly it – there was no saying no. This was his opportunity to take part in a once-in-a-lifetime adventure and contribute to a new milestone in aviation – one centered not on speed or height, but instead with a mission to show the power of sustainable energy, human ingenuity and stamina.
All the turns and junctures in André’s education and professional life led propitiously to that day in 2003.
More About André Borschberg…
While serving in the Air Force, André earned an engineering degree in mechanics and thermodynamics from EPFL, along with certificates in financial management and business management at HEC Lausanne. After earning a master’s degree in management from the Sloan School at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he joined McKinsey, serving as a consultant for five years, before embarking on his own entrepreneurial activities. In addition to partnering in a venture capital firm for eight years, André successfully launched two start-ups, including Innovative Silicon, a technology company in the field of microprocessor memories.
Thanks to his wife Yasemin, André discovered yoga and meditation, which have been essential to his successes in exploration and entrepreneurship. These practices have helped him develop a state of being that aligns the mind with the body, and have played a critical role in his preparation for stressful and physically taxing situations, such as piloting Solar Impulse.
As he mentors students and coaches managers, André encourages them to think about the implications of their ideas on both an operational and higher level. Good ideas can benefit both business and humanity. André has pursued this approach through his philanthropic work in food assistance and AIDs treatment.
Married to Yasemin and father of three children, André Borschberg lives in Nyon, Switzerland, in a house built with environmentally friendly technologies and materials.