FS: CEO Donnarumma resigns
The decision was taken at an extraordinary board meeting after the departure had been announced last week following a meeting with Salvini
Stefano Donnarumma is no longer the chief executive of FS. The manager tendered his resignation at an extraordinary board meeting which ‘took note’ of a decision that had already been announced last week following a meeting between the head of Italian Railways and the Minister for Infrastructure, Matteo Salvini. On that occasion, the Deputy Prime Minister had spoken of a ‘mutually agreed and shared handover’.
Early release
Donnarumma’s departure, however, has come earlier than initially reported: among the tasks the CEO had to complete was the approval of the half-yearly financial statements, which will take place at a board meeting in late July. The main factors behind the early end to his term of office (which was due to expire in a year’s time) were the numerous disruptions affecting the rail network, as well as differences of opinion between the manager and the shareholder, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (and thus Giancarlo Giorgetti, a member of the Lega like Salvini) regarding some of Donnarumma’s decisions, in particular the acquisition of the Pizzarotti business unit and his intention to open up to foreign capital for FS’s future investments.
Following the CEO’s resignation, the Board of Directors ‘will take the necessary steps to ensure the full continuity of the group’s governance and operations, in accordance with the provisions of the Articles of Association and the applicable regulations’.
Succession with an insider
The most likely candidate to succeed Donnarumma is Gianpiero Strisciuglio, the current CEO of Trenitalia. The next CEO, Salvini said, “will be chosen internally from among railway staff; in other words, there will be no political, party-based or external appointments”. He emphasised, therefore, that “the person appointed will be someone who has been working in the railways for a long time”.
The FS Group “reaffirms its commitment to implementing the Business Plan, ensuring operational continuity, managerial efficiency and the full implementation of investment programmes designed to support the country’s transport network”.
