Italian government shakes up Leonardo leadership, replacing Cingolani as CEO

ROME — Leonardo CEO Roberto Cingolani is to be replaced at the helm of the Italian defense company in a surprise move by the Italian government which sources said was related to his decision to shift Leonardo’s focus away from kinetic products as wars rage around the world. At the end of his three year mandate running the Italian state-controlled firm, Cingolani appeared on course for another term after overseeing a slew of new industry team-ups and a major rise in share value . But on Thursday the Italian government said its pick for new CEO was Lorenzo Mariani, currently head of the Italian arm of European missile house MBDA. Mariani is no stranger to Leonardo. When Cingolani was named CEO three years ago, Mariani was appointed co-general manager, effectively Cingolani’s number two. A year ago he was moved over to MBDA, a company he had worked at before his arrival at Leonardo. Previously he had also held down various roles at Leonardo including commercial director and head of electronics, making him very much a company man. Before starting his career he served as an officer in the Italian navy. Leonardo to set up aerostructures joint venture by mid-year “Mariani is a safe choice, a top manager who has been at Leonardo before, knows the industry and military interlocutors,” said Alessandro Marrone, who heads the defense program at Rome think tank IAI. “There will be no learning curve as defense budgets accelerate,” he added. For his part, Cingolani oversaw a four-fold incre…