Leonardo is said to be looking in-house in search for new leader

ROME — As speculation mounts in Italy over the government’s choice of a new CEO for state-controlled defense giant Leonardo, one thing seems certain: The job is staying in-house this time.

With current CEO Alessandro Profumo reaching the end of his second three-year mandate this spring, the Italian government is mulling a new boss for the firm and looks set to buck the recent trend of hiring outsiders.

“This time they want someone who knows the business and does not have to start from scratch,” said an Italian industry insider who spoke on condition of anonymity.

“In today’s geo-political climate you cannot afford to give a new CEO a year and half to get to know the company,” he added.

Profumo took over Leonardo in 2017 after a career in banking, while his predecessor Mauro Moratti had run Italy’s rail network before he was named to run the firm.

With the next CEO set to be appointed between late March and mid-April, the source confirmed the two main candidates for the job were currently Roberto Cingolani and Lorenzo Mariani, both Leonardo employees.

Cingolani, 61, first joined Leonardo in 2019, becoming chief technology and innovation officer and spearheading cyber and AI programs before he was named Italy’s “green transition” minister in 2021 by former Italian prime minister Mario Draghi.

When Draghi’s government fell last year to be replaced at September elections by a coalition led by incoming prime minister Giorgia Meloni , Cingolani was asked stay on as an energy advisor to the new government, a role he has combined with rejoining Leonardo to work on space programs.

Mariani is in charge of the Italian operations of MBDA, the pan-European missile firm in which Leonardo has a stake.

Italian press reports have suggested Cingolani is Meloni’s pick, while Mariani is favored by Italy’s defense minister Guido Crosetto, who formerly ran Italy’s aerospace and defense industry association AIAD.

“Crosetto wants someone who already has a key role in the industry, and that probably means Mariani, while Cingolani is the only person from the Draghi administration to be given a role in the new government, which means Meloni respects him,” said a political source who declined to benamed.

“Mariani has the more industrial profile, while Cingolani has vision, but has never run a company in the sector,” he added.

A financial analyst covering the sector said Mariani would be viewed as a positive appointment by investors. “MBDA is a success story, one of the best joint ventures in Europe with good margins and strong track record,” said the analyst, who spoke anonymously because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

Another strong candidate would be Gian Piero Cutillo, Leonardo’s former CFO who now runs the firm’s busy helicopter line, the analyst said.

“He knows the company inside out and has proved effective on the operational side,” said the analyst.

The appointment of a new Leonardo CEO will be made alongside appointments of new heads for three other key state controlled firms: energy firms ENI and ENEL and the Italian post office.

The political source said tradeoffs and compromises between decision makers within the government coalition, as talks proceed on finding candidates to run all the firms, could affect who gets picked for Leonardo.

That means surprises could be in store, he added.

“There is an Italian saying: Whoever enters a papal conclave expected to become pope will exit as a cardinal,” he said.

One outside candidate could be the biggest insider of them all, Profumo himself, if the Meloni government fails to find agreement on the other candidates.

The current CEO could yet be handed a third mandate thanks to positive 2022 results announced on March 9, which saw the firm’s new orders rise 21% year on year to 17.266 billion euros ($18.4bn), beating its forecast of 16 billion euros ($17bn).

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

罗马——随着意大利国内对政府选择国有国防巨头莱昂纳多公司新任首席执行官的猜测越来越多，有一件事似乎是肯定的：这次这个职位将留在公司内部。

现任首席执行官亚历山德罗·普罗富莫的第二个三年任期将于今年春天结束，意大利政府正在考虑为该公司寻找一位新领导人，并且似乎准备打破最近从外部聘请高管的趋势。

一位不愿透露姓名的意大利业内人士表示：“这次他们想要的是一个了解业务的人，而不是从零开始的人。”

“在当今的地缘政治环境下，你不能给一位新任首席执行官一年半的时间来了解公司，”他补充道。

普罗富莫在银行业工作多年后于 2017 年接管了莱昂纳多集团，而他的前任毛罗·莫拉蒂在被任命为该公司总裁之前曾负责意大利铁路网络。

消息人士证实，下一任首席执行官将于 3 月下旬至 4 月中旬之间任命，目前该职位的两名主要候选人分别是罗伯托·辛戈拉尼和洛伦佐·马里亚尼，他们都是莱昂纳多公司的员工。

现年 61 岁的辛戈拉尼于 2019 年首次加入莱昂纳多公司，担任首席技术和创新官，并领导网络安全和人工智能项目。2021 年，他被意大利前总理马里奥·德拉吉任命为意大利“绿色转型”部长。

去年，德拉吉政府垮台，在9月份的选举中被新任总理乔治亚·梅洛尼领导的联盟取代。辛戈拉尼被邀请留任新政府的能源顾问，同时他还重新加入莱昂纳多公司，从事太空项目方面的工作。

马里亚尼负责MBDA在意大利的业务，​​MBDA是一家泛欧导弹公司，莱昂纳多持有其股份。

意大利媒体报道称，辛戈拉尼是梅洛尼的选择，而马里亚尼则受到意大利国防部长圭多·克罗塞托的青睐，克罗塞托曾任意大利航空航天和国防工业协会 AIAD 的负责人。

一位不愿透露姓名的政治消息人士表示：“克罗塞托想要一位已经在业内担任要职的人，这可能意味着马里亚尼，而辛戈拉尼是德拉吉政府中唯一一位在新政府中担任要职的人，这意味着梅洛尼尊重他。”

“马里亚尼更注重实业，而辛戈拉尼则有远见，但从未在该行业经营过公司，”他补充道。

一位负责该行业的金融分析师表示，马里亚尼的任命将被投资者视为利好消息。“MBDA是一个成功的案例，是欧洲最好的合资企业之一，利润率高，业绩斐然，”这位分析师说道。由于未获授权接受媒体采访，他要求匿名。

分析师表示，另一位强有力的候选人是莱昂纳多公司前首席财务官吉安·皮耶罗·库蒂略，他现在负责该公司繁忙的直升机生产线。

“他对公司了如指掌，并且在运营方面已经证明了自己的能力，”分析师说。

在任命新的莱昂纳多首席执行官的同时，还将任命其他三家重要的国有控股公司的新负责人：能源公司埃尼集团和意大利国家电力公司以及意大利邮政。

这位政治消息人士表示，随着寻找各公司负责人的谈判继续进行，政府联盟内部决策者之间的权衡和妥协可能会影响莱昂纳多公司最终的负责人选。

他补充说，这意味着可能会有意想不到的事情发生。

他说：“意大利有句谚语：凡是抱着成为教皇的期望进入教皇选举会议的人，出来时都只会是枢机主教。”

如果梅洛尼政府无法就其他候选人达成一致，那么一位外部候选人很可能是所有人中最“圈内人”——普罗富莫本人。

由于 3 月 9 日公布的 2022 年业绩表现良好，现任首席执行官仍有可能获得第三个任期。该公司的新订单同比增长 21%，达到 172.66 亿欧元（184 亿美元），超过了此前预测的 160 亿欧元（170 亿美元）。

汤姆·金顿是《防务新闻》驻意大利记者。