MILAN (Business News) - The board of Italy's biggest insurer Generali (GASI.MI) voted on Saturday to oust Chief Executive Giovanni Perissinotto, in a move that his opponents see as key to reviving the group's appeal, two sources close to situation told Business News.
The board has yet to vote on the appointment of well-respected Zurich Financial Group (ZURN.VX) executive Mario Greco to succeed Perissinotto, the sources said.
"A no-confidence vote has been passed," one source said.
"Now the second part of the meeting is starting, with Greco's nomination," the second source said.
Ten out of 17 board members voted in favor of no-confidence in long-serving Perissinotto, five were against it and one abstained. It was not immediately clear if one board member was absent.
Perissinotto's opponents, including Luxottica (LUX.MI) founder and Generali investor Leonardo Del Vecchio, say they were unhappy with the way Perissinotto was running the company and with its underperformance under his rule.
Several analysts were skeptical that a change at the top would fundamentally improve the outlook for Europe's third largest insurer, which has been lagging behind peers mainly due to its 46 billion euros exposure to Italian sovereign bonds.
CLASHING WITH MEDIOBANCA
The boardroom battle, led by Generali's top investor, Mediobanca (MDBI.MI), flared up on Friday with Perissinotto and some investors clashing openly.
The fight at the top at Generali comes less than a month after investors forced the departure of Aviva (AV.L) CEO Andrew Moss and more than a year after embittered shareholders kicked Alessandro Profumo out of Italy's top bank, UniCredit (CRDI.MI).
Generali has been under attack from investo rs due to its poor performance since 2007, and after it took a hit last year from its investment in Greek bonds.
With his somber style and ability to navigate Italy's complex web of interests, Perissinotto, 58, survived boardroom battles that led to the ousting of former chairmen Antoine Bernheim in 2010 and Cesare Geronzi in 2011.
But he ended up clashing with Mediobanca CEO Alberto Nagel, Italy's most powerful investment banker, who delivered to him the news of plans to oust him at a meeting on Wednesday.
The clash between Mediobanca and Perissinotto underlines the investment bank's continued influence at the insurer despite a recently passed Italian law seeking to untangle the web of cross shareholdings in Italian finance.
Generali is a significant source of income for Mediobanca and allows it to wield influence across Ita ly's financial landscape.
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