MILANO – After a path that was not without difficulties and with a selection that the same press release explained was the result of a search among “a significant number of potential candidates”, carried out by Spencer Stuart (perhaps a sign of the difficulty of finding professionals available for the challenge ), the list for the new Cattolica board of directors has finally seen the light.
In fact, yesterday the outgoing board of directors launched the list, which will be voted on at the shareholders’ meeting on 13 and 14 May (in first and second call); the first of the insurance company in its new capacity as a joint stock company. And, as was in the forecasts and expectations of the IVASS supervision, the discontinuity with the past is strong. Virtually total. Apart from the CEO, Carlo Ferraresi, who was widely expected, and apart from the three directors expressed by Generali last October (therefore not involved in the previous management) all the others are new faces for the insurance company.
Starting from the future president Davide Croff, well known in the world of finance (in the past he was CEO of the BNL) to Professor Luigi Migliavacca, expert in corporate governance and partner of Pwc for 25 years, to Daniela Saitta (professor at Sapienza in Rome and repeatedly appointed commissioner) to Carlo Maria Pinardi, professor at Bocconi and finance expert, to Cristiana Procopio (formerly of the Cdp and currently in the Claudio Costamagna team in the consulting boutique Cc & soci). Out of 15 candidates, 6 are women (of which two indicated for the management control committee).
But, in this list, the name that stands out the most is the one that isn’t there: Paolo Bedoni, the father-owner of the insurance company, who is now passing the hand. Ivass, which asked for a profound renewal of the board, concluded a harsh inspection of Cattolica a few months ago, particularly criticizing its governance. The next steps of the company, which it has entered into forces Generali, will be the completion of the second step of the capital increase for 200 million.
There is time until tomorrow (April 18) for the presentation of other lists for the board of directors: all shareholders who have at least 2.5% of the capital can do so. If no one comes forward, there is another time window, which ends on April 21, during which lists of shareholders who have at least 1.25% of the share capital can be presented. Generali will certainly not come forward (despite its large share) while it cannot be excluded that the Catholic and local world, critical of the Bedoni management but also tempted to mark its presence also towards Generali, cannot be excluded.
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