The decision is part of measures announced this week by the right-wing government in Rome to protect the independence of Pirelli and the company’s management.
Prime Minister Georgia Meloni’s government is trying to protect resources that are of strategic importance to the country.
The Chinese party – which is the majority shareholder – indicated in March that it would renew and update the shareholder agreement with the co-investor, the Camfim holding company owned by Pirelli CEO Marco Tronchetti Provera.
The source, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, told Reuters news agency that Rome had decreed that Kamvin nominate a CEO to head Pirelli.
Under the agreement between Camfim and Sinochem, which is currently undergoing a government reshuffle, Tronchetti Provera will lose its current authority to appoint the group CEO from 2026, handing that task over to the Chinese-controlled Pirelli board of directors.
The Italian government stipulated that Sinochem could choose a maximum of eight members for Pirelli’s 15-member board of directors, and would entrust four members to Camfin. The Chinese side originally wanted to hire someone else.
Cover image: Getty Images
