Generali said on Wednesday it had appointed the head of its insurance business Giulio Terzariol as group deputy chief
executive, weeks after investors critical of CEO Philippe Donnet boosted their influence at Italy’s biggest insurance company.
Terzariol’s appointment is Donnet’s attempt to provide an internal CEO option should the two investors – Italian tycoon Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone and
Delfin, the holding company of the late billionaire Leonardo Del Vecchio –
push for his departure, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Both Caltagirone and Delfin declined to comment. The two investors tried in vain to oust Donnet in 2022.
Caltagirone’s representatives on the insurer’s board, as well as another director, abstained in Wednesday’s vote
on Terziariol, two people with knowledge of the matter said.
Delfin, which has no board representative, is focused on the grou
p’s strategy and keeping a neutral stance on appointments, a separate source said.
Donnet Expected to Oversee Orderly Transition
Terzariol’s appointment comes weeks after state-backed lender Ba
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nca Monte dei Paschi di Siena – with the support of Caltagirone and Delfin – gained control of Mediobanca, Generali’s largest investor.
Caltagirone and Delfin, who are also the leading investors in MPS,
have not given any indication of how they see the future of Generali since MPS became its main investor.
However, three sources close to the matter told Reuters last month that Donnet, in office since 2016, was expec
ted to oversee an orderly transition and may not complete his full mandate which expires in 2028.
Under the new structure, Terzariol will be in charge of the ins
nk, Banca Generali, the group said in a statement.
Terzariol joined Generali in January 2024 as CEO Insurance. From 1998 to 2023, he held various positions at rival
Allianz, serving as its chief financial officer for six years.
(Reporting by Gianluca Semeraro; additional reporting by Valenti
na Za; editing by Mark Potter, Elaine Hardcastle)