André Borschberg

CEO and cofounder of Solar Impulse S.A.

André Borschberg

CEO and cofounder of Solar Impulse S.A.

Biography

Seville, Spain, June 23th 2016: Solar Impulse successfully landed in Seville after 3 days over the Atlantic with Bertrand Piccard at the controls. Departed from Abu Dhabi on march 9th 2015, the Round-the-World Solar Flight will take 500 flight hours and cover 35’000 km. Swiss founders and pilots, Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg hope to demonstrate how pioneering spirit, innovation and clean technologies can change the world. The duo will take turns flying Solar Impulse 2, changing at each stop and will fly over the Arabian Sea, to India, to Myanmar, to China, across the Pacific Ocean, to the United States, over the Atlantic Ocean to Southern Europe or Northern Africa before finishing the journey by returning to the initial departure point. Landings will be made every few days to switch pilots and organize public events for governments, schools and universities.Fueled by a drive to push the boundaries of the possible in both technology and human endeavours, André Borschberg is an entrepreneur whose passion for exploration is matched only by his persistence to drive economic, environmental and spiritual growth.

Heading the Solar Impulse project together with Bertrand Piccard, André Borschberg converted the vision of a solar airplane of unlimited autonomy into reality, assembling the technical team and leading the design and construction of the 2 prototypes. Furthermore, he leads the evolution of the plane’s technology into new, complex engineering solutions that will serve and transform a number of industries.

In 2015, during the Round-The-World Flight with Solar Impulse 2, André flew for the first time ever 5 days, 5 nights non-stop over the Pacific Ocean and broke the world record for the longest solo flight in an airplane of any kind. He had previously achieved recognition for the first-ever day and night flight in a solar airplane flying Solar Impulse 1 in 2010, followed by a number of different world records.

A graduate engineer from EPFL and holder of a management science degree from MIT, he also is an entrepreneur of several successful start-ups. Fascinated by aviation from his early youth, he learnt to fly with the Swiss air force and holds an assortment of professional airplane and helicopter pilot’s licences. He also does aerobatics in his spare time. As 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’.

 

All sessions by André Borschberg