**Anne Hathaway Joins High-Profile Consortium to Acquire Pioneering Red Bull Italy SailGP Team**
Hollywood luminary Anne Hathaway has stepped into the sporting world as part of an influential consortium that has acquired the Red Bull Italy SailGP Team, marking a significant change in leadership for the sailing outfit and reflecting a growing interest in diverse representation within elite sport.
The newly announced ownership group is headed by Assia Grazioli-Venier, a leading figure at Muse Capital, alongside luxury brand strategist Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo. Esteemed sailor and SailGP champion Jimmy Spithill joins them as both CEO and co-owner, bringing extensive competitive experience to the helm. The purchase of the team places a strong emphasis on innovative leadership, gender equality, and progressive commercial vision, signalling the start of an exciting period for Italian sailing on the world stage.
Among the investors lending star power and expertise to the consortium are MFO Certuity, Yeh Capital, and high-profile individuals such as Alexander Gilkes, Evan Yurman, and Dr Jennifer Ashton. In addition to Hathaway, actress Miriam Leone, business leader Julie Eddleman, sports executive Heather Karatz, and entrepreneur Pete Delgrosso have joined the initiative, uniting a wide range of talents from entertainment, business, and the wider sporting industry.
This acquisition is notable not only for the renowned personalities involved but also because it marks the first instance of a female-led ownership group in the history of SailGP. With a focus on mixed-gender participation, the group’s stated ambition is to harness the growing commercial opportunities of the championship, while advocating for more women to take leading roles within high-performance sport. Hathaway, expressing her motivation for joining the venture, emphasised the significance of advancing inclusion and the importance of breaking new ground for women athletes and leaders alike.
Hathaway and her husband, Adam Shulman, described their involvement as a blend of personal devotion and professional enthusiasm, stating, “The new Red Bull Italy SailGP team embodies a unique fusion of innovation, sporting excellence, and a commitment to inclusive leadership.” They further noted the special resonance the project holds due to their deep affection for Italy, and their excitement about supporting an endeavour that respects both tradition and forward-thinking ambition.
Red Bull continues as the team’s title partner, and the consortium has made clear their intent to build one of the most dynamic and creatively driven presences within the SailGP competition. The multi-disciplinary collaboration combines expertise in elite sport, technology, storytelling, and entertainment, presenting what the group calls a new blueprint for internationally-focused sports ventures.
Assia Grazioli-Venier, leading the investment, commented on Italy’s rich sailing tradition and outlined the group’s strategy to serve as a catalyst for the next era of growth. As she elaborated, “This is a significant moment not just for Italian sailing, but for the sport globally. With the commercial potential for SailGP expanding, our group intends to leverage its elite expertise and entrepreneurial mindset for maximum impact.”
Praise for the consortium’s ambitions has also come from within the SailGP leadership itself. Russell Coutts, CEO and SailGP co-founder, welcomed the new owners, stating, “They bring diverse commercial insight and a shared vision for innovation to our community, representing an exciting chapter for both the league and the sport more broadly.”
Gian Luca Passi de Preposulo, who now serves as chairman, described SailGP as “more than just a sports league,” positioning it as a platform marrying technology, entertainment, and sustainability. He envisions a team that is not only successful on water but also serves as a model for how modern sports enterprises operate in a shifting global landscape.
For Jimmy Spithill, the acquisition signals the opening of a new chapter. “Having competed at the highest level for over two decades, it’s invigorating to assemble a world-class team, both in and out of competition. This marks a new phase for Italian sailing, and I’m eager to embark on this journey with Assia and Gian Luca.”
The announcement follows ongoing commercial growth for SailGP, which has recently enjoyed several record-breaking team transactions. The story of the Italian team’s journey and Spithill’s leadership will be explored in the forthcoming docuseries ‘Uncharted’, set to broadcast globally next month.
The SailGP season itself continues to heat up, with the Mubadala New York Sail Grand Prix scheduled for June, ahead of the Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix event in Portsmouth in July, ensuring an action-packed summer for fans throughout Europe and beyond.
With new leadership at its core, the Red Bull Italy SailGP Team’s future looks buoyed by both ambition and purpose, promising to further elevate the profile of mixed-gender competition and Italian innovation within the global sailing scene.