Enel SpA Chief Executive Officer Flavio Cattaneo is considering reshaping the company’s top management, which may include replacing Chief Financial Officer Alberto De Paoli, according to people familiar with the matter.
(Bloomberg) — Enel SpA Chief Executive Officer Flavio Cattaneo is considering reshaping the company’s top management, which may include replacing Chief Financial Officer Alberto De Paoli, according to people familiar with the matter.
Just over a month after being named to run the country’s biggest utility, Cattaneo is mulling ending De Paoli’s near-decade long tenure as CFO. De Paoli will likely remain with the company in a prominent executive position, according to the people, who asked not to be named discussing confidential information.
A final decision is not imminent and talks are ongoing, the people said, as Cattaneo is still evaluating options. Stefano De Angelis, former CEO of Tim SA, is seen as a top candidate for the job, the people said.
A spokesman for Enel says that currently no decisions have been made concerning appointments or changes within the company’s top management.
The CFO role is crucial for Enel, Italy’s largest listed company. Enel is currently halfway through a €21 billion ($22.5 billion) asset disposal plan announced late last year, after its debt pile hit almost €70 billion at the end of September 2022. Enel’s plan also envisages refocusing on core countries such as Italy, Spain, the US and Brazil.
De Paoli has been responsible for managing and overseeing the latest business plan, and for initiating or completing €11 billion in asset sales as of the first quarter of this year. That contributed to cutting the company’s net debt to €58.9 billion at the end of March.
Read More: Billion-Dollar Deals Emerge as a Fix for Massive Debt Piles
De Paoli was appointed by Enel’s former CEO Francesco Starace in 2014. Starace was replaced with Cattaneo in May following a nomination by the Italian government, Enel’s largest shareholder with a roughly 24% stake, that was challenged by some international investors.
A management shakeup could also involve other positions, the people said, including top roles in some units.
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2023 Bloomberg L.P.