ROME, Might 9 (Reuters) – Italy’s Leonardo (LDOF.MI) has appointed former power and surroundings minister Roberto Cingolani as chief govt officer and common supervisor, the defence group mentioned in a press release.
Shareholders earlier on Tuesday accepted a brand new board, backing a slate of eight candidates submitted by Italy’s Treasury, the main investor in Leonardo with a 30.2% stake, together with Cingolani and former NATO ambassador to Afghanistan Stefano Pontecorvo, who was appointed chairman.
In an uncommon transfer, the remaining 4 board members have been elected from an inventory submitted by U.S. funding agency GreenWood Buyers and hedge fund Sachem Head, whereas a rival record from Italian institutional buyers’ membership Assogestioni was defeated.
“Sachem Head helps the corporate’s present technique and believes that the newly elected board has the right combination of abilities and expertise to floor vital shareholder worth at Leonardo,” Scott Ferguson, the founder and portfolio supervisor of the hedge fund, instructed Reuters.
“We imagine that the corporate will emerge as a real European aerospace and protection champion within the coming years,” he added.
Leonardo has benefited from rising authorities spending on defence within the wake of the Ukraine battle, however has been much less worthwhile than rivals resembling Germany’s Rheinmetall (RHMG.DE) and Britain’s BAE Techniques (BAES.L).
Cingolani, who has a background as a physicist and was beforehand Leonardo’s chief know-how and innovation officer, has informally suggested Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on power coverage in current months.
The 61-year-old former minister, who has no expertise on the high of a listed firm, succeeds former banker Alessandro Profumo, who had been Leonardo’s chief govt for six years.
Lorenzo Mariani, head of the Italian unit of European missile maker MBDA, has been appointed Leonardo’s co-general supervisor, in accordance with the corporate’s assertion.
Reporting by Alvise Armellini, further reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss, enhancing by Alexander Smith
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