What was the last watch you bought?
A Breitling Navitimer Chronograph limited edition with a light blue dial. I love it as it’s the same colour as the sky.
Do you collect anything outside of watches?
Aviation memorabilia as it reminds me of the pioneering feats that have marked history. It was an incredible time when people were fascinated by innovation. Today, many take everything for granted.
What’s at the top of your wishlist?
I wish that our world could become cleaner and more efficient in its use of energy and resources. For this, we need the participation of every corporate and individual, but nothing will happen without the intervention of governments. As long as it is legal to pollute, people will continue to pollute without worry. Therefore, politicians have to modernize our legal frameworks in order to create a need to use modern and efficient solutions.
Bertrand Piccard atthe Solar Impulse Foundation
What is a recent find or discovery?
Every week, my Solar Impulse Foundation discovers innovators who have developed new solutions that can protect the environment or fight climate change in an economically profitable way. Reconciling the ecology with the economy. There’s always a very healthy suspense in my team: what’s the next one we’ll find?
What inspires you?
The legacy that I have received from my father and grandfather to live like an explorer with the pioneering spirit inspires me to make my dreams come true far beyond conventional limitations and the status quo. This is what I want to share with my children, and all those of their age, for the search for a better quality of life for all. My intention is to lead disruptive actions achieving what many consider impossible.
What is a book, podcast, or album that changed the way you think?
Antoine de Saint-Exupery, who combines so well the vital quest for spirituality with the experience of flying. And Paulo Coelho, with this beautiful quote: “if you think that adventure is dangerous, try routine, it is deadly!” I really think that the worst in life is not to take risks, because finally you learn to manage the risks. The worst thing is to sleep in the routine, certitudes and habits.
Breitling Orbiter 3
Who is a celebrity that you admire?
Many pioneers have influenced my life since I met several of them when I was a child, like Edmund Hillary, Neil Armstrong, Charles Lindbergh, Thor Heyerdahl, Jacques Mayol, Alain Bombard, Wernher Von Braun, Scott Carpenter, and John Glenn. They have all shaped my dreams and aspirations. But my favorite is Henry Dunant, the initiator of the International Red Cross Committee in the 19th century. I think no one else has alleviated the suffering of so many people in the world.
What is your ideal long weekend?
Going wild snow skiing with friends or kite surfing with my family
Bertrand Piccard in the Breitling Orbiter 3
What would we always find in your fridge?
Fresh vegetables I grow in my garden. It’s another of my favourite hobbies. I love to see how a little seed becomes an edible plant. It’s a miracle of nature.
What is a rule or mantra that you live by?
Exploration is a state of mind where you get rid of old and useless beliefs that keep you a prisoner of old ways of thinking, where you play with the doubts and the questions to stimulate your performance and your creativity. In that sense, I live with a compass in my heart, indicating, not the north, but everything that has not been done yet.
Bertrand Piccard and Brian Jones
What does the year ahead look like for you?
Besides leading the Solar Impulse Foundation, I’ve launched the Climate Impulse project, the first zero emission non-stop flight around-the-world with a green hydrogen-powered airplane. At a time when so many people think that decarbonisation of the aviation sector is impossible, I want to show that it’s not only possible, but exciting. You might say that I love flying around the world, and I do, because it’s the ultimate flight. You can’t do more, and you can’t do better. If you want to prove the maturity of a new clean and sustainable technology, I think this is the best way to do it. So that’s what I’m working on.
More details at Bertand Piccard.
