Goldman Sachs · New Zealand · Barcelona · New York · Fortune Technology
Meet the former Goldman Sachs exec who became the America’s Cup Partnership’s first CEO and is running the 175-year-old trophy
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On July 4th weekend, the America’s Cup, sailing’s oldest trophy, returned to the Hudson River aboard the Italian Navy’s historic 1931 tall ship, the Amerigo Vespucci, known internationally as “the most beautiful ship in the world,” which carried the Cup to New York’s harbor as part of the 250th-anniversary Sail4th naval review.
Key facts
- Independent estimates from Italy’s Unimpresa Research Center put the immediate economic return at roughly €700 million, with €1–2 billion in impact over the following five to ten years
- He joined Goldman Sachs’ New York training program in 1993, spent time in London, then opened the firm’s Milan office
- But that all ended in December 2025, when five founding teams—Emirates Team New Zealand, Britain’s Athena Racing, Italy’s Luna Rossa, Switzerland’s Tudor Team Alinghi, and France’s K-Challenge—formed
- The Partnership’s first full cycle under the new structure culminates in Naples in 2027, the first America’s Cup ever held in Italy
Summary
“I’m here because there was this big event for the 250th anniversary, and the Amerigo Vespucci was here, so we brought the Cup on it,” Perrelli told Fortune in the equally ornate teak woodwork and hand-carved ornamented lobby of New York’s Algonquin Hotel, days after the storied ship entered New York’s harbor. That symbolism is present all throughout the weekend’s naval festivities, and even like the Cup itself.
“I understand how important the heritage is,” Perrelli told Fortune as he and the authored switched between Italian and English throughout the chat.