Gabriele Galateri will not run again for the presidency of Generali in the next, long-awaited assembly of the insurance company which will have to choose its new top management on 29 April.
"I leave in complete serenity and unity of purpose” wrote Galateri in a letter sent to the board of directors which is struggling with the definition of the list of candidates issued by the board of directors itself in view of the meeting at the end of April and which points to the reappointment of the CEO, Philippe Donnet, with the backing of Mediobanca, which is the company's largest shareholder.
After 11 years of presidency of the Lion, the departure of Galateri, 75 years old, with a career entirely at the top of Ifil, Fiat, Telecom and Mediobanca and indeed of Generali, had been in the air since he lost the requisites for director independent. However, the outgoing President has assured that he will continue to carry out his duties until the end of the mandate and that is until April 29, but did not hide the regret for the tensions which opened up in the shareholding structure of the company following disagreements between the main private shareholders, and in particular of Caltagirone, Del Vecchio and Crt, and Mediobanca which will give rise to the presentation of alternative lists to the meeting in a confrontation that promises to be very switched on.
Precisely in view of the duel of April 29, Del Vecchio and Crt confirmed the validity of the agreement of consultation in view of the moves aimed at countering the confirmation of Donnet at the helm of Generali.
However, it remains to understand what it is the strategy of the rebel partners, what is their industrial plan and above all what is the alternative team they will propose to the Lions summit.
While waiting for the developments of one of the hardest-fought challenges of Italian finance this year, the fact remains that today the general title it was among the brightest in Piazza Affari with an increase of 1,42%, also crowned by the good performance of Banca Generali (+0,72%).
