Mario Greco ‘s adventure at Assicurazioni Generali ends in the course of his mandate, ahead of time. And for this reason it remains somewhat incomplete. The news of the exit of the CEO of Neapolitan origins, who arrived at the Trieste company in the summer of 2012 to replace Giovanni Perissinotto , and arrived on January 26, 2016 in the afternoon. Greco, it has been announced, is leaving the Leone group to take over the top management of Switzerland’s Zurich on May 1st, where he has already worked in the past. The news did not come too unexpected: from the end of 2015, in financial circles, rumors of a possible exit of the manager were constantly circulating, but these had always been denied by the company (albeit not through formal press releases).NEXT STEPS IN TRIESTE
Now that it will happen to Generali
As the Ansa agency points out, “the company’s statute foresees an interim for the president in the event of resignation, and in recent days some sources had hypothesized a guide to Galateri’s time ( Gabriele Galateri , president of Generali, ed), with an extension of the powers of the financial director Alberto Minali “. In any case, it should be noted that Greco has expressed his willingness to continue “in the fullness of his functions and in the interest of Generali”, until the end of his mandate, in the month of April. THE PERFORMANCE OF THE STOCK AND THE ACCOUNTS
Very often, the proponents of the Greek era at Generali have indicated the performance of the stock in its period of “reign” in Trieste as intangible proof of its good work. Ansa writes: “During his leadership, Generali gained 40% on the stock market: it was worth 10.2 euros at the beginning of August 2012 and with the crush on January 26 on the manager’s expected farewell, it closed at 14.15 euros ( -3.1%) “. But in the same period, that is, from August 2012 to today, the benchmark index of the Ftse Mib stock exchange rose by 37%, practically by the same amount. This means that at least part of Generali’s leap can be explained by the performance of Piazza Affari; not only by the Greek management. Furthermore, it should not be forgotten that in the summer of 2012 the number one of the ECB, Mario Draghi, I say the magic words “Whatever it takes…”, meaning that he would have done everything necessary to avoid a crisis, contributing to the rise in the stock markets and the return of the alarms on the spread between Italy and Germany. And Generali, also due to the high level of government bonds in its portfolio, have always been considered an approximation of the trend in Italy. Here is how Il Sole 24 Ore summarizes the situation of Generali after the management of Greco: “Not just profits. In these 4 years, Generali has strengthened its equity and solvency ratio, changed the perimeter of the group – with approximately 4 billion in disposals and the acquisition of 100% of the Generali Ppf joint venture – but above all it has revised the governance of the company “. Furthermore, according to Alberto Grassanidel Sole , “has cleaned up past financial statements and completed the plan for the acquisition of minority stakes – in Asia, Germany and Eastern Europe – by exiting non-core businesses such as Bsi in which risks and management cultures incompatible with Generali were concentrated” TENSIONS WITH THE SHAREHOLDERS
This is why the shareholders of Generali, who when they had ousted Perissinotto had given the unsatisfactory performance of the stock on the Stock Exchange as one of the reasons, in reality they were not so enthusiastic about the Greek era. And often the tensions with the partners were palpable. For example, when Greco lashed out at the previous managers of Generali, namely Perissinotto and his former right-hand man Raffaele Agrusti, against whom he filed cases in court that were unsuccessful.
It should be remembered that Mediobanca is the first shareholder of Generali with 13.3%, then there are the family of Leonardo Del Vecchio (3.18%), the Caltagirone group (2.23%), the People Bank of China (2 , 16%) and the De Agostini group (1,716%). In Repubblica , January 27, Giovanni Ponsspeaks of a letter sent by Greco to the board of directors which clearly shows the differences with some shareholders. The letter reads: “There was no shared vision of my role in the company, due to conflicts with some shareholders. I thank Caltagirone and Del Vecchio who chose me first and have always supported me “. According to Pons, “having thanked only two major shareholders out of four, it can be deduced that with the other two, namely Mediobanca and De Agostini, harmony had given way to frictions, which later proved decisive for the final outcome of the affair”. And again, continues the Repubblica journalist , “to feel the central point of Greco’s entourage is trust: the manager no longer felt welcome in that position, he had the feeling thatLorenzo Pellicioli and Alberto Nagel would have preferred someone else in his place ”. Moreover, it should not be forgotten that it was Pellicioli who insisted that Greco arrive in Trieste in 2012, after the tumultuous exit of Perissinotto. BANK INSURANCE TENSIONS
There are also those who argue that between the two fronts there were fundamental differences: on the one hand the top manager (backed by Del Vecchio and Caltagirone) who was aiming for an acquisition of weight to make the group more important and international. based in Trieste; on the other, some shareholders (in particular Mediobanca and Bollore) who shared the idea (which involved a potential outlay also in the form of a capital increase, if necessary) preferring perhaps an acquisition in the banking field, opposed instead by the CEO. For example, this is the reconstruction accredited by the Dagospia site . But to many observers it seems strange, and unlikely, that Nagel pushed Generali to take over banking. THE NEW SALARY
According to what Marcello Zacche writesin a comment in the Giornale , “there is no move by Mediobanca, the first partner of Leone, to send Greco away. On the contrary: in Piazzetta Cuccia they praise his restoration work. And the CEO, Alberto Nagel, he repeated to all those who asked him that he had never thought of firing Greco. The 56-year-old Neapolitan manager therefore leaves on his legs. And he leaves his job halfway, a few months after the presentation of a three-year plan. Greco will go to Zurich, where he will receive a much higher salary (when Generali’s was already 4 million a year). But it seems to us that, for an Italian top manager, leaving the largest national financial company in such a delicate moment for the country, to go to Switzerland to earn more by paying less taxes, sounds out of tune “. The economic offer of the Swiss group – rumored to be over 8 million a year – was not surpassed by the Trieste giant, it is said in financial circles.
It is likely that the truth lies somewhere in between, that is, between those who motivate the exit with the tensions with the shareholders and those who simply emphasize that Greco has opted for the economically best offer: it is possible that the manager has been looking for a long time. alternative and, once the Zurich opportunity has opened, has immediately chosen to seize it. In fact, Il Sole 24 Ore
writes : “The background that is gathered in the entourage of the two fronts on the stages that led the CEO of the Lion to opt for an international alternative diverge on the interpretations”. There are those who remember some “misunderstandings”, writes Antonella Olivieri of Sole 24 Ore, triggered by an initiative of Pellicioli last May, which would have ensured Greco’s renewal for another mandate, no later than the three years provided for by law. The offer also included a commitment by the CEO to work before the end of the mandate to prepare his succession. “Condition in line with corporate governance practice but which could have been interpreted as a term resignation”, writes Il Sole . Furthermore, the offer to move to Telecom that more recently was made to him by Vincent Bollore , on his own as the second shareholder of Mediobanca and through Vivendi as the first shareholder of the telephone group, “would have contributed to increasing misunderstandings”.
