Milan: Vivendi, the largest investor in Telecom Italia, placed its own chief executive officer atop a list of proposed candidates for the Italian phone carrier’s board, suggesting it plans to replace the current chairman, Giuseppe Recchi. The significance of Vivendi listing Arnaud De Puyfontaine, its CEO, above Recchi among the 10 candidates it’s proposing for Telecom Italia’s 15-member board, wasn’t explained in a statement released on Sunday announcing the board candidates. Typically for Italian companies, the first name is used to indicate the nominee for chairman.
Vivendi, which owns 24 per cent of Telecom Italia and currently has four directors, is using the board-nomination process to firm up its grip on Italy’s former phone monopoly.
