Federico Pignatelli's Pier 59 Snaps Ke$ha For V Magazine's The Americana Issue

By Author: Federico Pignatelli
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Federico Pignatelli's Pier 59 snaps Ke$ha for V Magazine's "The Americana Issue" Branding Ke$ha the "new hope" of Rock ‘n Roll, V Magazine chose her to front its forthcoming Americana issue. And its photographers, Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin, have chosen to shoot the page at Federico Pignatelli's Pier 59.This is the latest in a string of high-profile bookings for the world-class digital facility which underscore the soundness of its creators' vision.Pier 59 is only one of the many business successes of Federico Pignatelli, a major player in the international finance and real estate development, but it is the only one which combines not only all his experience in business, but his other passion, for beauty, art and design. For in his youth, as a young business major in his native Italy, Federico had been a keen photographer, so gifted that an ex-girlfriend turned to him to improve her modelling portfolio. So successful was the outcome that Pignatelli was soon receiving commissions from top Milanese ...
... fashion houses.Throughout a career in business, he managed to keep his photography skills honed. Posts in Switzerland and London were followed by London and finally New York, as CEO of EF Hutton.Once he became established in the USA, Federico Pignatelli began to look for venture capital investment vehicles in high-tech startups, and found a biotech startup with a patent for a promising new instrument which uses a pulsating water jet to perform surgical cuts. They needed capital to get the device FDA approval and take it to market, and Federico Pignatelli contributed $1m becoming a major shareholder. California-based Biolase prospered initially, but soon began a series of near-collapses, as weak management allowed expenditure to outstrip revenue. Each time Biolase teetered on the brink of collapse, Pignatelli was brought in as temporary CEO, only for the business to flounder within a couple of years. Finally, he decided to assume permanent control of the company, with the means to appoint a board of directors that suited him. That accomplished, Biolase has established a stable growth pattern.Of course his involvement with Biolase also meant another move for Pignatelli - to Southern California. And this gave rise to the last piece in the Pier 59 puzzle - Pier 59 West. Smaller than its New York counterpart, it has all the same technology, has the benefit of southern Californian weather and is, of course, convenient for Hollywood's elite - so often the lens's target.