Jonathan Bloomer, one of the men missing after a luxury yacht sank off the coast of Sicily, has capped off his long career as an accountant and insurance executive with an unusual twist: testifying for the defense in the trial of Mike Lynch in San Francisco.
Sacred, who is also missing after his yacht Bayesian sank in bad weather on Monday, is accused of fraud in the $11 billion sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.
Bloomer, 70, who was appointed to Autonomy’s board as a non-executive director in 2010, told the court in May that Lynch was “not particularly interested in the financial side” and preferred to focus on strategy and product. A day later, Lynch himself testified and was acquitted in June.
Bloomer and his wife, Judy, who is also missing, were among the invited guests. Lynch’s Yacht to celebrate victory.
Bloomer is best known for his leadership of FTSE 100 insurance company Circumspectwhere he joined as CFO from accounting firm Arthur Andersen in 1995. Within five years, he rose to the top position.
Aviva chairman George Culmer, Prudential’s financial controller, recalls a highly intelligent CEO who was “polite, charming, likeable and fair”. “He always built very good teams,” Culmer said. “People were loyal to him. They would follow him.”
Bloomer’s tenure as Prudential CEO was tumultuous, coinciding with the dotcom crash and the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York. Although he was credited with spearheading the group’s growth in Asia and cutting costs, there was some frustration with shareholders that ultimately led to his departure after five years on the job.
The first was a failed multi-billion pound attempt to buy US insurer American General and merge it with Pru’s US arm in 2002. This attempt was heavily criticised by shareholders and sent the company’s share price plummeting.
Then, in 2003, Bloomer cut its dividend for the first time since World War I to support the company’s depleted capital, despite repeated pledges to continue increasing the payout.
After launching a surprise £1bn rights issue in 2004 and despite the previous backing of Prudential chairman David Clementi, he was ousted in a boardroom coup and replaced by Mark Tucker in 2005.
“He was not a natural CEO,” said a former colleague. “He was not ruthless enough. He was too trusting.”
After a decade at Prudential, Bloomer joined private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management as a European partner, where he worked for six years until 2012.
In the years since leaving Pru, Bloomer has had a varied career, taking on a variety of non-management roles, including chairman of the audit committee at Autonomy, a position that put him at the center of a case in which Lynch’s software company was accused of fraudulently inflating its revenue.
Bloomer told the court he met Lynch at a conference in the early 2000s. Autonomy chairman Robert Webb approached him around 2010 looking for a board director who “understands the city” and can “think about how Autonomy is perceived” there.
HP argued that Autonomy used loss-making hardware sales to make up for its shortfall in quarterly revenue. The large hardware sales would be recorded in Autonomy’s audit report, which Bloomer reviewed as part of his boardroom role.
In testimony at trial, Bloomer explained that some of the books later flagged as suspicious by US prosecutors were admissible under UK regulations.
Associates describe Bloomer as someone from humble origins who easily connects with colleagues and inspires loyalty, but still maintains a certain distance.
“He doesn’t like hierarchy or status,” said one senior insurance executive. “But he also likes to dress well in nice suits and enjoy the finer things in life.”
A physics graduate from Imperial College London, Bloomer founded a pension buyout company called Lucida, backed by Cerberus, which was later sold to Legal & General in 2013.
The rowing and rugby enthusiast also sits on the boards of several financial services companies, including legal services firm DWF Group and Arrow Global, a European investment firm.
Sir Nicholas Lyons, a former Lord Mayor who championed the Mansion House Accord to promote more efficient investment, said Bloomer was a passionate supporter of the initiative.
“He is very supportive of the agenda and putting financial services back at the heart of the economy,” Lyons said.
Bloomer’s most prestigious recent posts have been at Morgan Stanley International, the UK arm of the Wall Street bank, where he has been chairman of the board since 2018, and London-listed insurer Hiscox, where he has been non-executive chairman since last year.
“We are deeply shocked and saddened by this tragedy. Our condolences go out to all those affected, especially the Bloomer family, as we all await the latest news on this terrible situation,” a Morgan Stanley spokesperson said.
Hiscox chief executive Aki Hussain said the company was “deeply shocked and saddened by this tragic event”.
Additional reporting by Patrick Jenkins and Michael Acton
