Quick Facts
Biography
Pierre Zimmermann is a Swiss-born real estate developer and champion bridge player resident in Monaco.
As a developer, Zimmermann is founder and CEO of Zimmermann Immobilier, a real estate company in Geneva. As a
bridge player, he is a triple world champion and playing captain of the Monegasque 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, Switzerland on 26 May 1955. He studied mathematics at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne from 1973 to 1978 and, in parallel, business administration at HEC Lausanne from 1975 to 1979.
He has five children and is married to the artist Christine Zimmermann.
Professional career
In 1979, Pierre Zimmermann joined IBM in Zurich where he worked for five years. He then worked for Hill+Knowlton Strategies 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 leaves BBHQ to create the Régie Zimmermann (today known as Zimmermann Immobilier), a real estate company in Geneva. In 2006, he opens a subsidiary in Lausanne, and in 2013 Zimmermann Immobilier reached 100 million Swiss francs of 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 his second in 2009 in São Paulo. and his third one in Chennai.
Pierre Zimmermann has played for several years with the professional player Franck Multon. Together they formed teams with top professional pairs, most recently Geir Helgemo–Tor Helness of Norway and Fulvio Fantoni–Claudio Nunes of Italy. In 2010 these six players all moved to Monaco in order to establish residency and thus eligibility for international teams-of-four competition as a national team. They have represented Monaco in European Bridge League (EBL) and world championship tournaments and finished second in the Bermuda Bowl 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, Fantoni and Nunes were banned from play for five years and as partners for life.
Bridge accomplishments
Gold medals
- World Transnational Open Teams Championship 2007, 2009, 2015
- North American Bridge Championships
- Vanderbilt 2010
- Reisinger 2012, 2013
- Spingold 2011, 2012
- European Bridge League
- European Open Championships, mixed teams, 2011 Poznan
- European Team Championships, open, 2012 Dublin
- SportAccord, open, 2013 Beijing
Other medals
- Bermuda Bowl 2013 (2nd)
- North American Bridge Championships
- Vanderbilt 2014 (2nd)
- Reisinger 2011 (2nd)
- Spingold 2014 (2nd)
- Spingold 2015 (2nd)
- European Bridge League
- European Team Championships, open, 2014 Opatija (2nd)
- World Bridge Championships
- Rosenblum Cup 2010 Philadelphia (3rd), 2014 Sanya (2nd)
- World Mind Sports Games, 2012 Lilles (3rd)