Italy has moved to replace Leonardo’s chief executive Roberto Cingolani following the end of his three-year term, proposing Lorenzo Mariani, the aerospace firm’s co-general manager, as his successor.
Disclosing the plans on 9 April, the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance said its proposals will be voted on at a 7 May shareholder meeting.
The Italian government is the largest shareholder in Leonardo, holding a 30.2% stake. As such, it has the right to nominate the company’s board of directors.
Cingolani was appointed to the post in May 2023, having previously held the position of minister for ecological transition in the government of Mario Draghi.
He has overseen significant change at the Italian aerospace and defence champion, growing its business in cyber and space and launching a drone joint venture, LBA Systems, with Turkey’s Baykar Technologies, in addition to the divestment of non-core assets.
Restructuring of the company’s serially underperforming aerostructures division has also continued under Cingolani’s stewardship, proposing a joint venture that he pledged will create a sector leader.
It had been assumed that his three-year mandate would be renewed – effectively a vote of confidence in the latest industrial plan presented in March – however, the right-wing administration of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has opted for a different course.
Mariani has held multiple posts at Leonardo and its predecessors over the years, including several stints at European missile maker MBDA, in which the Italian firm holds a 25% stake.
In addition, current non-executive director Francesco Macri has been nominated as Leonardo chair, replacing Stefano Pontecorvo.
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