The Gruppo Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane (Italian State Railways Group) renewed its BoD last 27th November resulting in the appointment of a new Chairwoman and a new CEOThe Ferrovie Italiane S.p.A.’s general meeting, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, in agreement with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transports, appointed the new BoD selecting Gioia Ghezzi as Chairwoman and Daniela Carosio, Giuliano Frosini, Simonetta Giordani, Federico Lovadina, Renato Mazzoncini and Wanda Ternau as directors. The meeting also invited the new board to appoint Renato Mazzoncini as the new CEO with extensive executive powers. An appointment which the BoD formalized on 1st December, giving Mr. Mazzoncini all executive powers. Chairwoman Ghezzi on the other hand is in charge of auditing activities, coordination with the CEO, external relations and institutional relations.
The background
These changes in top management of the FSI Group come as a result of the resignation, which had been brewing for some time, of the previous board, caused mainly by the differing opinions on how to put 40% of the 49 JANUARY 2016 FS GROUP Railways capital onto the stock exchange. Differences that threatened to slow down a course of action which the
Government, under Matteo Renzi, is actually seeking to accelerate but which, objectively speaking, is very complicated and something no-one has done to date in Europe. There are numerous underlying knots which need untangling: is the network to stay inside or outside the scope of privatization? And the main stations? Is Trenitalia on its own appealing to the market? High-speed generates profits but what happens in regional transport where there are problems with certain regions which fail to pay within the times laid down in the service contracts? Former Chairman, Marcello Messori, was thinking in terms of a preliminary reorganization of the Group, separating the companies to be put up for privatization from those which should remain 100% state-owned. The CEO, Michele Elia, had different ideas. But it has to be said that not even the Government, up to the meeting of the Council of Ministers
on 23rd November, had given a formal go ahead to the partial privatization process with a definition of how the stake held by the Ministry of Economy and Finance in the FSI capital should be partially sold. The new BoD and Mr. Mazzoncini in particular, must now respond to the Government’s request to complete this process.
by Franco Tanel - Photo by FS Italiane
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