The CEO of Generali, Philippe Donnet, who leads the list of the board in view of the renewal of the top management which will be at the center of the eagerly awaited assembly of the company on April 29, go on the attack. And he doesn't tell them. In an interview given to the Republic attacks bluntly the plan presented by the competing list promoted by Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone, but also the alternative candidates for the presidency (Claudio Costamagna) and for the CEO chair (Luciano Cirinà, who until a few weeks ago was his close collaborator).
Donnet: "The Caltagirone plan is just a set of slides, but it's dangerous"
"More than a strategic plan - says Donnet - [the one presented by the Caltagirone list] is a set of slides made by consultants who on the one hand reflect obsessions (such as those on acquisitions) rather than ideas, on the other they confuse ambition and risk. They are not more ambitious numbers than our plan: they are just more risky, and without remunerating the shareholders; on the contrary, putting at risk the dividends which instead our plan envisages in constant growth. I consider it very dangerous, also in light of the macro deterioration ”.
“In this context – insists the CEO of Generali – proposing to shareholders a much higher risk with identical remuneration does not make financial sense. It also applies to the acquisitions to be made in debt (Editor's note, according to the Caltagirone plan), after the Generali 2018-21 plan reduced it, with the full approval of the board of directors".
But, beyond the general attack on the rivals' plan, Donnet who does not fail to recall all the objectives achieved by the plans he presented and implemented over the past few years. He also has a few pebbles to remove from his shoes, and his arrows are aimed at Cirinà and Costamagna.
Donnet: "Cirinà has betrayed the company and Costamagna has no respect for the employees"
Di Cirina, the former head of Generali Austria and Eastern Europe who surprisingly ran for the Caltagirone list, says: “Once again I don't make it a personal case, I'm not the emotional type. The company has been betrayed for hearing about his choice from the press. And the board also felt betrayed. Just think that Cirinà was still in Eastern Europe on 8 March to present the Generali plan and on 15 March it appeared on the Caltagirone list”.
“I read in an interview with Dr Costamagna – Donnet then adds – the sentence “people will suffer” referring to reduction of employees: a statement that I find morally wrong, denotes indifference and goes against sustainability. I really don't see the need to make Generali employees suffer, who after years of great efforts have achieved great goals".
But what will happen to Generali if he wins the list led by Donnet and supported by Mediobanca, who is the company's first shareholder, and what will happen if Caltagirone wins? “If the board list wins – explains the current CEO – the shareholders will have chosen the current management team, strategy and candidates for the board. And at the end of the meeting it will be my responsibility to continue implementing the plan, with the supervision of the new board”. But – asks the interviewer – if instead the competing list prevails, what will Donnet do? Will he leave Generali or will he become a director? “This is a hypothesis – the CEO cuts short – that I am not considering today”.
