{"id":11087,"date":"2026-07-07T22:28:43","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T22:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/?p=11087"},"modified":"2026-07-07T22:28:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T22:28:43","slug":"meet-the-former-goldman-sachs-exec-who-became-the-americas-cup-partnerships-first-ceo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fintechpulse8.com\/?p=11087","title":{"rendered":"Meet the former Goldman Sachs exec who became the America’s Cup Partnership’s first CEO"},"content":{"rendered":"

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On July 4th weekend, the America\u2019s Cup, sailing\u2019s oldest trophy, returned to the Hudson River aboard the Italian Navy\u2019s historic 1931 tall ship, the Amerigo Vespucci, known internationally as \u201cthe most beautiful ship in the world,\u201d which carried the Cup to New York\u2019s harbor as part of the 250th-anniversary Sail4th naval review. Standing beside it was Marzio Perrelli, a year into the job as the first-ever CEO of the America\u2019s Cup Partnership, and a man who spent 25 years actively avoiding sports for a living.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019m here because there was this big event for the 250th anniversary, and the Amerigo Vespucci was here, so we brought the Cup on it,\u201d Perrelli told Fortune <\/em>in the equally ornate teak woodwork and hand-carved ornamented lobby of New York\u2019s Algonquin Hotel, just days after the storied ship entered New York\u2019s harbor. \u201cThat was an opportunity to bring the Cup back to New York, where everything started almost two centuries ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Italian Navy\u2019s training ship Amerigo Vespucci, widely dubbed \u201cthe most beautiful ship in the world\u201d, has arrived in New York to mark the 250th anniversary celebrations of American independence.<\/figcaption>

Copyright by Amerigo Vespucci, Courtesy of the America\u2019s Cup Partnership<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

That symbolism is present all throughout the weekend\u2019s naval festivities, and even like the Cup itself. Much like the Algonquin\u2019s Beaux-Arts facade, the Vespucci\u2019s gun-deck styling and figurehead carvings are more about signaling tradition than serving a practical purpose. And that symbolism runs even deeper with the America\u2019s Cup: Nearly a century after she was built in Naples\u2019 own Castellammare di Stabia shipyard, the ship will carry the Cup back to where it was created in Naples, where the America\u2019s Cup is set to take place this time next year.<\/p>\n

For Perrelli, it\u2019s precisely that kind of symbolism that attracted him to the job in the first place, and is how he\u2019s coming to handle a sporting event\u2014complete with 175 years of maritime heritage\u2014while stepping in as the first CEO in its history.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand how important the heritage is,\u201d Perrelli told Fortune <\/em>as he and the authored switched between Italian and English throughout the chat. \u201cAt the same time, it\u2019s the oldest competition in the world, but it\u2019s also start-up, because it\u2019s a new government, it\u2019s a new era.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The America\u2019s Cup Partnership\u2019s CEO Marzio Perrelli beside the America\u2019s Cup onboard tall ship Amerigo Vespucci in New York.<\/figcaption>

Courtesy of the America\u2019s Cup Partnership<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

From Goldman\u2019s training class to Sky Sport<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Perrelli\u2019s path to the Cup runs through three decades in finance and media. He joined Goldman Sachs\u2019 New York training program in 1993, spent time in London, then opened the firm\u2019s Milan office. He spent 11 years at Goldman in total before moving to run HSBC\u2019s Italian business. <\/p>\n

His pivot to sports came almost by accident: At a dinner in Paris tied to the Ryder Cup\u2019s Italian organizing committee, he ran into an old London contact who then ran Sky Italia, Italy\u2019s satellite TV platform that\u2019s now owned by Comcast. Two weeks later, Sky\u2019s chief called and asked him to run Sky Sport Italia. It was an immediate yes from Perrelli, who stayed on for eight years before the America\u2019s Cup Partnership came calling.<\/p>\n

\u201cSports: It\u2019s a sector of finance,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have banks, private equity, family offices, all these kinds of people involved in the sports industry. And the media side is really relevant as well. I guess it\u2019s a perfect mix. Today\u2019s sports is very much related to both the financial industry and the media sector.\u201d<\/p>\n

For 175 years, the Cup\u2019s reigning champion, known as the Defender, unilaterally ran the event, from the boats to the venue and even the rules. But that all ended in December 2025, when five founding teams\u2014Emirates Team New Zealand, Britain\u2019s Athena Racing, Italy\u2019s Luna Rossa, Switzerland\u2019s Tudor Team Alinghi, and France\u2019s K-Challenge\u2014formed the America\u2019s Cup Partnership, a shared governance structure. Perrelli was interviewed and selected by all five founding teams collectively.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was the decision of moving from the Defender to the America\u2019s Cup Partnership,\u201d Perrelli said. \u201cThat was the key element. I ended up interviewing with all the the challengers, who were founders. And after a few interviews, I was asked to join the partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Meet the America\u2019s Cup Partnership\u2019s new Chief Executive Officer, Marzio Perrelli.<\/figcaption>

Courtesy of the America\u2019s Cup Partnership<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

A 175-year-old winner-take-all sporting monarchy, for the first time in its history, installed an independent, outside operator that was chosen by its rivals, not its champion. (Currently, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron is the defender).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mindset of the teams has to change, because now they need to think as a whole, not just as individuals. Before, it was very egoistic: You focus on you, you don\u2019t care about the other guys. Now they need to start thinking about the overall platform. If the platform grows, each team benefits economically.\u201d<\/p>\n

A big bet on Naples<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The Partnership\u2019s first full cycle under the new structure culminates in Naples in 2027, the first America\u2019s Cup ever held in Italy. It\u2019s also a bet that pairs the regatta with the long-stalled redevelopment of Bagnoli, the former industrial waterfront outside the city. Independent estimates from Italy\u2019s Unimpresa Research Center put the immediate economic return at roughly \u20ac700 million, with \u20ac1\u20132 billion in impact over the following five to ten years. By comparison, Barcelona\u2019s 2024 edition of the regatta generated a reported \u20ac1 billion-plus in regional GDP impact.<\/p>\n

Perrelli thinks Naples should outperform Spain\u2019s results. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have the numbers from Barcelona in front of me, but I guess the economic impact will be bigger in Naples, just because Barcelona already had a lot of events,\u201d he said, \u201cnot only the Olympics\u2014but plenty of other things, while for Naples, this is one big event.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Luna Rossa Team training in Naples Bay on July 6, 2026.<\/figcaption>

Copyright Luna Rossa | Studio Borlenghi, Courtesy of the America\u2019s Cup Partnership<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

He\u2019s watched the buildup already reshape the city\u2019s posture toward the race: \u201cNapoli is waiting for the event and receiving the teams as they land. It will be almost a one-year stay for these guys and their families. The investment from the government is huge, because the legacy will be extremely important. I\u2019s not a couple of interventions here and there, it\u2019s one big side of the city being reborn.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naples 2027 will also mark a first in the Cup\u2019s history: all four nations that have ever held the trophy\u2014the U.S., New Zealand, Switzerland, and Australia\u2014competing in the same edition.<\/p>\n

But that fourth nation\u2019s presence was not guaranteed. American Magic\u2019s exit and a second US bid\u2019s collapse briefly left the 2027 field on track to be the first America\u2019s Cup in history without a U.S. entry. That\u2019s until Czech billionaire Karel Kom\u00e1rek and British entrepreneur Chris Welch backed a new campaign, the American Racing Challenger, led by Ken Read. <\/p>\n

\u201cThat was crucial,\u201d Perrelli said of the U.S.\u2019 entry. \u201cYou can\u2019t have an America\u2019s Cup without an American team. Doesn\u2019t make sense.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Luna Rossa Team training in Naples Bay on July 3, 2026.<\/figcaption>

Copyright Luna Rossa | Studio Borlenghi, Courtesy of the America\u2019s Cup Partnership<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

Putting the oldest trophy in sport<\/strong> on the calendar<\/h2>\n

Perrelli\u2019s broader pitch for the Cup\u2019s future sounds less like sailing heritage and more like league-commissioner logic: fixed scheduling, predictable venues, a biennial cycle. <\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t disappear for too much time. It has to be calendarized, like all other serious sports,\u201d he said. \u201cYou know when the next Ryder Cup is, the next Formula One Grand Prix, the next Olympics, the next World Cup. We should know when the next America\u2019s Cup is happening.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you think about the Monaco Grand Prix, you go there not only for the race but for everything else around it. I think the America\u2019s Cup should become a bit more like that: the place to go, the place to be. It doesn\u2019t last one day, it lasts three months,\u201d he continued. \u201cRoom for rivalries, parties, sports events, social events. That\u2019s the way I see the America\u2019s Cup transforming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Naples 2027 will carry a few firsts meant to signal that shift: two fleet races for the first time in Cup history, a mandatory female sailor on each five-person AC75 crew, and a rotating \u201cguest racer\u201d seat that Perrelli likens to sitting beside Lewis Hamilton mid-race in a Ferrari.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

#Meet #Goldman #Sachs #exec #Americas #Cup #Partnerships #CEO<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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