Two years after Alitalia's management underwent a radical shakeup with the hiring of two private sector managers to fill the senior posts, the top dogs are out of the door, seven other executives are on 'holiday' and the status quo has returned with the appointment of trusted, politically astute, aviation insiders to run the carrier's unprofitable affairs.
Chairman Renato Riverso was ousted in early March, joining his erstwhile computer industry colleague Roberto Schisano, sacked as managing director late last year, on the sidelines. Enter the state-sector replacements: at presstime, the chairman designate appeared to be Fausto Ceretti from Italian aircraft manufacturer Alenia, while Alitalia old-boy Domenico Cempella takes over as managing director, arriving from Aeroporti di Roma, which he has turned round.
Cempella's mandate is to do the same at Alitalia. However, his first priority was to re-jig the 14-member executive board appointed by his predecessors. Appointed on a Friday night, Cempella took office on Monday morning and had dispatched seven of the executives on 'holiday' by 8:30 am.
The new five-member board includes four men who have worked with Cempella in the past. Most notable is the appointment of Giovanni Sebastini, as director of flight operations. Sebastini, a former Alitalia employee had left to be the driving force behind startup Air One, which began competing with the Italian flag on Rome-Milan in December.
Enzo Giuntoli, retired by Schisano, returns as commercial director; Claudio Carli heads up personnel and finance goes to Franco Raffaele, whose responsibilities include strategic planning.
The unions welcomed Cempella's appointment and called off the latest round of strikes. Captain Menico Snider at pilot's union Anpac says he is pleased the appointees are 'very competent in the business of air transport' but is awaiting details of the new plan.
But management experts disagree. 'It is a real tragedy for Alitalia and a giant step backward,' says one Brussels based consultant. 'The unions will feel very strong now.'
Cempella has been tough but not antagonistic with labour in the past. But once redundancies enter the picture, the unions could become less accommodating. Losses for 1995 stand at L250 billion ($160 million), excluding exceptional items, and with the deficit for the first quarter of 1996 alone expected to reach L280 billion, the full year figure could double. Bids by the former executives to cut costs failed due to strikes and political interference.
The new management faces two imponderables. General elections in April could bring new political overlords and the European Commission could still block the planned L1,500 billion injection by state holding company IRI, itself undergoing a Brussels-approved revamp, which prevents IRI from increasing its debt.
Sara Guild
Source: Airline Business
