Generali ‘categorically rejects’ mounting criticism as another key investor takes aim
Europe’s third-largest and Italy’s biggest insurer Generali has addressed the claims made by one of its largest investors who stepped down from the board on Thursday (January 13) in a “surprise” move. The company has been embroiled in a boardroom battle with major shareholders for quite some time regarding the reappointment of its CEO Philippe Donnet.
Board director Francesco Caltagirone, who holds just over 8% of the group's shares - the second largest in the company, has resigned saying that he was prevented from contributing to the strategy.
Caltagirone claimed of being “clearly opposed, prevented from making his own critical contribution and from ensuring adequate control”.
The company’s chairman Gabriele Galateri di Genola has expressed “deep regret and surprise” by the decision taken by Caltagirone but “categorically rejected” the reasons given by him.
Gabriele di Genola insisted that the company has always conducted its business with “absolute transparency and rigorous fairness”, particularly in relation to the renewal of the board.
Caltagirone is said to have voiced his criticism of the board's working methods in the past as well.
Earlier last year, the insurer had issued a statement following reports that two of its biggest investors are keen on seeing a leadership overhaul at Generali towards making its management more effective and profitable.
At that time, the company said that the majority of its non-executive board members are in favour of reappointing Donnet as group CEO for another mandate, expressing “appreciation of the work undertaken and the results achieved” by him during his tenure.
Did you get value from this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.
Already registered?
Login to your account
If you don't have a login or your access has expired, you will need to purchase a subscription to gain access to this article, including all our online content.
For more information on individual annual subscriptions for full paid access and corporate subscription options please contact us.
To request a FREE 2-week trial subscription, please signup.
NOTE - this can take up to 48hrs to be approved.
For multi-user price options, or to check if your company has an existing subscription that we can add you to for FREE, please email Elliot Field at efield@newtonmedia.co.uk or Adrian Tapping at atapping@newtonmedia.co.uk
Editor's picks
Editor's picks
More articles
Copyright © intelligentinsurer.com 2024 | Headless Content Management with Blaze