On 12 November 2020, Geneva State Councillor Guy-Olivier Segond passed away at the age of 75. It is thanks to his visionary nature that SIB was established in 1998.
In 1996, when the Swiss-Prot knowledgebase was threatened with extinction due to a lack of financial support, Guy-Olivier Segond released the funds needed to save it. He intervened politically, locally and at the federal level, to create SIB. « It was with sadness that we learned of his death and we will remember him as an enthusiastic, energetic and collegial person who was instrumental at the very beginning of our Institute, » says Ron Appel, Joint Executive Director and Founder.
"Without his tenacious intervention, SIB would not exist today and would not be able to provide state-of-the-art databases and tools to millions of scientists, " says Christine Durinx, Joint Executive Director.
Guy-Olivier Segond was mayor of the city of Geneva and national councillor, before joining the State Council in 1989. He remained in this position for twelve years. In 2001, he retired from political life, but remained active, through various mandates. He has been the first President of SIB’s Foundation Council.
