Pierre Zimmermann (born May 26, 1955) is a

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

-born real estate developer and champion

bridge A bridge is a structure built to span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or rail) without blocking the way underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, which is usually somethi ...

player formerly resident in

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

. As a developer, Zimmermann is founder and CEO of Zimmermann Immobilier, a real estate company in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

. As a bridge player, he is a quadruple world champion and playing captain formerly of the Monegasque team, and now of the Swiss team. He is also a tournament organizer, notably the biennial Monaco Cavendish since 2012 and the European championships by team from 2016 onwards on even years.

Biography

Pierre Zimmermann was born in

Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR-74), ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

on 26 May 1955. He studied

mathematics Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern mathematics ...

at the

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

from 1973 to 1978 and, at the same time,

business administration Business administration, also known as business management, is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization. From the point of view of management ...

HEC Lausanne HEC Lausanne (standing for ''Faculté des Hautes études commerciales''), also called the Faculty of Business and Economics of the University of Lausanne, is the affiliated business school of the University of Lausanne. Since 1911, HEC Lausanne h ...

from 1975 to 1979. He has five children, including blogger, Tiffany Lea and Yann he had with ex-wife, artist Christine Zimmermann.http://www.clairebridge.com/textes/zimmerman_joiedevivre.pdf

Professional career

In 1979, Pierre Zimmermann joined IBM in Zurich where he worked for five years. He then worked for

Hill+Knowlton Strategies A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not as ...

as an assistant corporate controller for Europe until 1985. From 1986 to 1988, he worked for Finagrain as a financial analyst, and then joined BBHQ (a venture capital firm) in 1988 again as a financial analyst. In 1990, Pierre Zimmermann left BBHQ to create the ''Régie Zimmermann'' (today known as Zimmermann Immobilier), a real estate company in

. In 2006, he opened a subsidiary in Lausanne. In 2013 Zimmermann Immobilier reached 100 million Swiss francs in gross rental income.

Bridge career

Pierre Zimmermann started playing bridge occasionally in 1975 during his studies, but only started to play seriously in 1998. He obtained his first World Champion's title in 2007 in

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

his second in 2009 in

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

. and his third one in Chennai. For several years, Zimmermann partnered with the professional player Franck Multon. Together they formed teams with top professional pairs, most recently

Geir Helgemo Geir Helgemo (born 14 February 1970) is a professional bridge player who was born in Norway but is now a citizen of Monaco. Through 2012 he had won three world championships in competition. As of August 2018 he ranked first among Open World Gra ...

–

Tor Helness Tor Helness (born 25 July 1957) is a Norwegian professional bridge player. He was a stalwart on Norway junior and open teams for thirty years before moving to Monaco. Through 2012 he has won four world championships in competition. As of October ...

of Norway and

Fulvio Fantoni Fulvio Fantoni (born 9 November 1963) is an Italian international bridge player. He is a six-time world champion, a World Grand Master of the World Bridge Federation (WBF), and the WBF first-ranked player as of December 2011. He is one of 10 pla ...

–

Claudio Nunes Claudio Nunes (born 23 March 1968) is an Italian professional bridge player. He is a five-time world champion, a World Grand Master of the World Bridge Federation (WBF), and the WBF second-ranked player as of April 2011. He is one of 10 player ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. In 2010 these six players all moved to

in order to establish residency and thus obtain eligibility to compete as a national team in international . They have represented Monaco in

European Bridge League The European Bridge League is a confederation of National Bridge Federations (NBFs) that organize the card game of contract bridge in European nations. In turn the EBL organizes bridge competition at the European level. It is a member of the Europe ...

(EBL) and world championship tournaments and finished second in the

Bermuda Bowl The Bermuda Bowl is a biennial contract bridge world championship for national . It is contested every odd-numbered year under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation (WBF), alongside the Venice Cup (women), the d'Orsi Senior Bowl and the Wuh ...

in Bali in 2013. Following controversies over cheating, the Zimmermann team withdrew just prior to competing in the 2015 Bermuda Bowl and after hearings by the EBL, and the CAS judgment Fantoni and Nunes were acquitted because the proofs were inconsistent.

Bridge accomplishments

Gold medals

World Transnational Open Teams Championship The World Transnational Open Teams Championship is a major side event conducted by the World Bridge Federation during the semifinal and final stages of its world championships for national teams at contract bridge—the Bermuda Bowl, Venice Cup, and ...

2007, 2009, 2015 World Transnational Open Teams Winners
*

North American Bridge Championships North American Bridge Championships (NABC) are three annual bridge tournaments sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League (ACBL). The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven da ...

** Vanderbilt 2010 **

Reisinger The Reisinger national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Reisinger is a board-a-match event. History The event is contested for the Reisinger Trophy ( ...

2012, 2013 **

Spingold The Spingold national bridge championship is held at the summer American Contract Bridge League (ACBL) North American Bridge Championship (NABC). The Spingold is a knock-out team event that attracts the top contract bridge players in the world. T ...

2011, 2012, 2018 *

** European Open Championships, mixed teams, 2011 Poznan ** European Team Championships, open, 2012 Dublin *

SportAccord Global Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF) is the umbrella organisation for all (Olympic and non-Olympic) international sports federations as well as organisers of multi-sports games and sport-related international association ...

, open, 2013 Beijing *

2022

Other medals

2013 (2nd) *

** Vanderbilt 2014 (2nd) **

2011 (2nd) **

2014 (2nd), 2015 (2nd), 2016 (2nd), 2019 (2nd) *

** European Team Championships, open, 2014 Opatija (2nd) ** European Team Championships, open, 2022 Funchal, Madeira (2nd) *

World Bridge Championships The World Bridge Championships consists of several sets of championships organized under the auspices of the World Bridge Federation. World Bridge Series Championships ''World Bridge Series Championships'' is the new 2010 name for a quadrennial me ...

Rosenblum Cup Rosenblum Cup is an Open Teams event held every four years as part of the World Bridge Championships. The event was added to the world championships in New Orleans in 1978 to commemorate Julius Rosenblum, who served as president of the World Bridge ...

2010 Philadelphia (3rd), 2014 Sanya (2nd) *

World Mind Sports Games The World Mind Sports Games (WMSG) was a multi-sport event created by the International Mind Sports Association (IMSA) as a "stepping stone on the path of introducing a third kind of Olympic Games" after the Summer and the Winter Olympics". The i ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Lilles (3rd)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zimmermann, Pierre Monegasque contract bridge players Swiss contract bridge players Bermuda Bowl players Swiss emigrants to Monaco Swiss expatriates in Monaco Living people 1955 births People from Lausanne