The board of directors of Telecom Italia (TIM) has announced the appointment of former Bank of Italy senior deputy governor Salvatore Rossi as the company’s new chairman, confirming recent reports. Rossi served as Bank of Italy’s no. 2 until May 2019 and has also headed Italy’s Insurance Supervisory Authority (IVASS). He was appointed unanimously after the board ascertained that he met the independence requirements and confirmed his status as an independent director in light of the powers and role assigned to him.
Rossi succeeds Fulvio Conti, who resigned last month to ease tensions among the operator’s shareholders, above all US investment fund Elliott Management and France’s Vivendi. Earlier this year Vivendi called for the removal of Conti and four other Elliott-appointed directors on grounds of a “substantial lack of independence” and for conspiring to replace TIM CEO Amos Genish, a former Vivendi executive, a motion it finally dropped after state lender CDP acted as peacemaker.
