Having worked in the luxury watch industry for more than 30 years, Mark joined Patek Philippe as the Managing Director at Rhone Products in 2000. He was a unique leader - strong, passionate, objective and above all inspirational. He was the person who took a chance on us and we all have our own treasured memories of this remarkable man. Underpinning them all was someone who supported us, from believing in us at the start and throughout our careers, to encouraging us to prioritise our health. As a keen sportsman and avid tennis player, Mark firmly believed that a healthy body led to a healthy mind. 

Above all, we remember Mark as a man of his word and his word was his bond.

Mark was diagnosed in 2016 with Parkinson’s Disease, later confirmed as Multiple System Atrophy (MSA), a rare neurological disease.  Two years ago, we decided we wanted to show our support for him, just as he had always supported us. We came up with the concept of the Rhone to Rhone bike ride, raising money for a renowned charity with over 25 years experience that supports those affected by this debilitating illness, the MSA Trust. Due to the pandemic we had to delay the ride, and sadly Mark passed away in December 2021 before he could see us put our plans into action.

We now want to keep our word to him, just as he unfalteringly did for each of us.

Therefore on 9^th September, a group of 6 colleagues, along with a fantastic support crew, are undertaking to cycle almost 1000km over 8 days from our office near Gerrards Cross to our company headquarters to the south west of the city of Geneva.  The route will stop off on the way at the three Patek Philippe Salons in London, Paris and Geneva.  The ultimate goal to raise £1000 for each year that Mark worked for the company - £20,000.

We would truly appreciate any donations made to help us achieve and hopefully smash our goal and, of course, to motivate the team even further.  We will provide updates so you can see our progress before, during and after the ride via links or posts to this page.

Adam Dunbar, Beau Francis, James Hewitt, Lewis Redman-Schaffer, Patrik Zetterlund & Steve Parkinson

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