Generali’s Chief executive ousted

MILAN - Agence France-Presse

Top shareholders at Italian insurance giant Generali ousted their CEO with a no-confidence vote on June 2 after a public battle over Giovanni Perissinotto’s fate and offered his job to someone else.

Shareholders frustrated by the company’s poor performance on the stock market voted to show Perissinotto the exit, and Mario Greco, an executive of the Zurich Insurance Group, was offered his job.

“At a meeting today, the Board of Directors of Assicurazioni Generali decided by a majority to revoke the powers conferred on Giovanni Perissinotto as Managing Director and Group CEO,” Generali said in a statement.

“The board decided to propose to Mario Greco his appointment as General Manager and Group CEO.

The appointment will take place following his co-option to the Board of Directors after termination of his employment with the Zurich Insurance Group,” it said.

In the meantime, the company’s chairman, Gabriele Galateri di Genola, will be acting CEO, the company said.

Ten members of the board voted against Perissinotto, five voted in favour of keeping him and one abstained, a source close to the matter said.

Investment bank Mediobanca -- the insurance giant’s largest shareholder with a 13.24 percent share -- had been baying for Perissinotto’s exit.

So had Luxottica, which holds 3.0 percent, De Agostini publishers with 2.43 percent and Caltagirone constructors with 2.27 percent.

The board “expressed its strong gratitude to Giovanni Perissinotto for his work in more than 30 years of service in the interest of the company and of the Group,” the statement said.