8chan/8kun QResearch Posts (1)
#2254927 at 2018-07-23 21:45:17 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #2842: "NO SECURITY CLEARANCE FOR YOU!" Edition
Fiat Chrysler Europe Chief to Step Down After New CEO Chosen
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's European chief has resigned after being passed over to replace ailing Sergio Marchionne as chief executive officer of the group.
The departure of Alfredo Altavilla, chief operating officer for the region, was confirmed Monday by the company in a statement. His exit deprives new Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley of crucial management experience as he tries to steady the ship following the sudden loss of Marchionne, who was forced to relinquish his post of 14 years due to declining health.
Altavilla, 54, was a close aide to Marchionne, having overseen Fiat Chrysler operations across the globe. He was considered one of the three leading candidates for the top job, along with Manley and Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer. Manley was selected Saturday as the new CEO, only days ahead of the company's July 25 results presentation.
More from Bloomberg.com: U.S.-Iran Tensions Simmer as Trump and Rouhani Trade Threats
Altavilla's resignation raises the stakes for when Manley addresses investors for the first time Wednesday as CEO. He was already facing pressure to show he was capable of moving the Italian-American automaker forward without Marchionne. He now has the challenge of proving he can unify veteran managers around him and prevent further turmoil in the executive ranks.
Altavilla's resignation was reported earlier by La Repubblica and by Bloomberg News. He'll stay on until the end of August, the company said. Manley will be interim Europe chief, after taking direct oversight of the North American operations from Marchionne over the weekend. CFO Palmer takes on added responsibility for business development.
More from Bloomberg.com: China's Stealth Yuan Devaluation Catching Trump's Attention
Manley was set to meet with Fiat Chrysler's top managers in Turin, Italy, on Monday for a group executive council meeting, the people said. The gathering marks the beginning of his tenure following Marchionne, who is credited with saving both Fiat and Chrysler during his 14-year tenure and increasing shareholder value 10-fold.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fiat-chryslers-Altavilla-resign-head-103401828.html
8kun Midnight Riders Posts (1)
#117058 at 2022-01-26 06:15:17 (UTC+1)
QR Midnight RIders #601: RedLines are a Democrat Deep State Boundary Edition
Italian Shipping Magnate Makes Daring Attempt Into Passenger Aviation
Bloomberg January 25, 2022
By William Wilkes and Daniele Lepido (Bloomberg) -
The Italian billionaire who turned a one-boat cargo operation into the world's biggest shipping company thinks he can save an airline operation that's landed a profit just once in 75 years of flying.
Gianluigi Aponte's Mediterranean Shipping Co. is teaming up with Deutsche Lufthansa AG to bid for ITA, the successor to Alitalia, a one-time symbol of Italian glamour that's cost the Italian state billions of euros in unrecovered bailouts and failed takeover attempts. Armed with MSC profits earned amid sky-high shipping rates, MSC founder Aponte, 81, is betting his firm can turn a profit in an Italian aviation market that's a key battleground for low-cost carriers like Ryanair Plc and Wizz Air Holdings Plc.
"It's a curious one," said Peter Sand, chief analyst at Xeneta, a shipping data and analytics company. "You'd expect them to make acquisitions in the field of air cargo, not air passengers."
MSC recently became the world's largest container line after the coronavirus pandemic unleashed port disruption and unprecedented demand for consumer goods, pushing cargo rates to record highs. The Geneva-based company started out with one ship in 1970 and steadily bought vessels during the crisis, bringing its fleet to 638 boats, the largest in the world.
Belly Freight
Shipping rivals A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S and CMA-CGM Group have recently expanded in air-freight to capture a bigger slice of the growing market and reposition themselves as end-to-end logistics providers. CMA is even establishing a fleet of wide-body freighters, but neither has gone so far as to buy a passenger airline.
By using the below-deck capacity of ITA passenger jets, MSC would also gain access to a higher-speed mode of transport and profit from long-haul routes from Europe to the U.S. and Asia, said Alfredo Altavilla, executive chairman of the state-owned Italian carrier.
"MSC could materially boost its business, making its cargo shipping interoperable worldwide through an owned airline like ITA," Altavilla said in a telephone interview.
Acquiring ITA would also benefit MSC's cruise-line business, enabling it to move its passengers to terminals, he said.
An MSC spokesman declined to comment.
With an industry reputation for shrewd business acumen and a secretive manner, the Aponte clan is one of Italy's richest business dynasties. Gianluigi, who handed over day-to-day running of the company to his son Diego in 2014, remains executive chairman.
A resident in Switzerland, Gianluigi has a net worth of $10.3 billion, making him the 216th wealthiest person in the world, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Munich Threat
Lufthansa, Europe's largest airline by fleet size, would be MSC's industrial partner in the proposed deal, but with a minority stake at most. The German airline flirted with Alitalia for years, but refused to invest until the loss-making company was restructured and bloated labor costs reduced.
Lufthansa's longstanding interest centers on its desire to protect long-haul earnings, particularly at its Munich hub. Its executives have long feared a rival transatlantic operation from Milan could suck in passengers from Munich's wealthy alpine catchment areas, denting Lufthansa profits.
A strategic plan for ITA would instead center on establishing a major Italian hub at Rome's Fiumicino airport, a safe distance from Lufthansa's lucrative German bases, according to people familiar with the matter. The companies would work together to optimize flight schedules and operations, allowing ITA to benefit from connecting flights with Lufthansa and its Swiss, Brussels Airlines and Austrian Airlines subsidiaries.
The Brussels unit, for example, which flies to central and western Africa, would complement ITA's links into north Africa. ITA could also join Lufthansa's Miles & More loyalty program, bringing more Italian customers into the fold.
For ITA, a partnership would likely prompt a switch to the Lufthansa-led Star Alliance and transatlantic-revenue-sharing venture, away from Delta Air Lines Inc.'s Sky Team.
Since coming aboard last year, ITA's Altavilla has made progress thinning down the predecessor's payroll and set plans to modernize the fleet with a deal for 59 Airbus SE jets. Still, he has said the company is too small to survive alone.
More:
https://gcaptain.com/italian-shipping-magnate-daring-attempt-passenger-aviation/