Mathieu Truffer: Bertarelli is defined by an overwhelming desire to win

It happened just after the finish of Alinghi's third win against Oracle.

Ernesto Bertarelli swept his forehead with the back of his hand and uttered a sigh of relief.

The Swiss billionaire and on-board navigator, whom lots of Kiwis have learned to dislike for buying half of Team New Zealand's sailors, looked exhausted. Alinghi had come very close to losing a race.

And of all things, losing is something Bertarelli hates.

I can remember Alinghi's first press conference well.

I asked him why he was getting involved in the America's Cup and why he was paying millions to employ Russell Coutts and the other Kiwis. His answer was short: "Because I want to win."

I tried to get a little more, suggesting that he might like the idea of doing something which could benefit sailing in Europe, Switzerland as a country or any other cause.

He looked slightly puzzled and simply repeated: "The goal is to win the America's Cup."

Top or nothing: the attitude has been Bertarelli's since his childhood in Italy, when he already knew he was to take over the family business one day.

Staff at pharmaceutical giant Serono are regularly told second place is not good enough. Employees are evaluated and given marks for their work every year and wages are determined accordingly.

Some thrive in the environment, quite a few drop out.

But the result has been a massive increase in share value since Bertarelli's takeover from father Fabio in 1996. In one of the most ruthless industries of all, Bertarelli is winning and has amassed a personal fortune worth $18 billion. Alinghi works along the same lines, employing the best in the sailing business and aiming at first place.

Bertarelli's image as a winner is carefully monitored too. He did not make any appearance in front of the press before Alinghi showed excellent potential on the water.

He only spoke at the Louis Vuitton Media Centre on the night of the third victory against Prada in the quarter-finals.

Had SUI64 lost, another crewmember would have had to give explanations to the press.

Bertarelli gives few interviews and hardly anything is quotable apart from standard winning slogans.

Wider interest in Bertarelli's sailing achievements is paradoxical because they remain a very private business, with self gratification as the first incentive.

In many ways, he reminds me of legendary Greek conqueror Alexander the Great, who battled through Asia between 330 and 320 BC. He is young, powerful, successful, very controlling of his public image and a constant winner.

But just like historians struggle to write a decent biography of Alexander, we find it difficult to write Bertarelli's story, because little purpose can be seen in his achievements apart from winning for winning's sake.

Alinghi and Team New Zealand's campaigns could not be more different from each other.

The defenders' effort is largely supported by taxpayers' money, either directly or through companies such as Telecom and Lotto.

The desire to promote local technology and develop the national economy is obvious.

In the Swiss press, Bertarelli has shown deep irritation with New Zealand's national, sometimes nationalistic, feelings.

Little annoys him and his entourage more than the Loyal campaign, a spectacular testimony to the importance of the event for New Zealand.

Days before a possible match between Team NZ and Alinghi - with possibly no Swiss sailor on board SUI64, it seems that one extremely ambitious Swiss billionaire and four million New Zealanders have a long way to go before they have a chance to understand each other.

* Swiss journalist Mathieu Truffer is in Auckland to cover the America's Cup.

nzherald.co.nz/americascup

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