Leonardo, the return of Mariani: 'Ready to make it even more of a reference in Italia and the world'

A first move, looking at the organisational set-up, has already been made. Because, for Lorenzo Mariani, the appointment of Leonardo at the top is - as he himself wrote in his first message to the group on Friday following the meeting of the new board of directors - a 'return' to the company 'in which I was formed and in which I grew as a person and as a professional'. A return, then, to that 'home' of which the electronics engineer, who also boasts a brief stint as a naval officer, knows every nook and cranny, and which he now aims to grow further.

It is no coincidence, therefore, that the new CEO quickly began to redesign the top management structure. Thus, on the occasion of the first board meeting that assigned him the operational delegations and then defined those of the new chairman Francesco Macrì - already a director of the group in the previous three-year period -, the first appointment of the new course was also made official with the nomination of Gian Piero Cutillo as co-general manager.

A first, significant change, therefore, compared to the model desired by his predecessor, Roberto Cingolani - which envisaged two co-general managers reporting directly to him - and which Mariani spoke of in his farewell address, also published yesterday on social media. "I feel a strong responsibility and duty to lead Leonardo with passion and determination, to make it even more of an industrial reference point in Italia and the world, as a model for growth, innovation and global security". Then the passage on Macrì ("who will face this experience together with me in his new role as president") and the reference to the new co-general manager "who will bring his experience thanks to his deep knowledge of the company".

A group that Mariani has been working for for a long time and in which he has held roles of increasing responsibility ever since, in January 2016, he was appointed head of Leonardo's Land and Naval Defence Electronics division, a role he had already held at Selex Electronics Systems, before, however, Selex Es's activities were merged into the One Company project headed by Moretti. In October 2017, he was appointed commercial director of the former Finmeccanica in the Alessandro Profumo era, and, from May 2018, he also became ceo of Leonardo International, under whose umbrella the group's holdings are grouped across borders.

Then, in September 2020, his arrival in Mbda - where he had already been head of Product Strategy from 2002 to 2005 - as managing director of the Italia 'arm', a role that he will combine with that of executive group director Sales & Business Development. Until June 2023 when he rejoins Leonardo as co-general manager, a position he left last year, as is known, due to disagreements with Cingolani.