Tim Board of Directors nominated Pietro Labriola as new group CEO, after two months The resignation of the former Luigi Gobitossiwho left his post after disappointing economic results and the controversy that erupted after the offer to buy the company by the US fund KKR. Labriola, who has until now been president of Tim Brasil, took over the executive functions as general manager in those two months with incumbent President Salvatore Rossi.
Labriola is 54, has a degree in economics and commerce and a master’s degree in innovation management. Before joining Tim, he had hired several people roles Inside the telecom company Infostrada, starting in 1996. Labriola then joined Tim five years later, holding various positions, including as Managing Director of Matrix, owner of the Virgilio portal. Since 2019 he has been CEO of Tim Brazil and has worked on infrastructure modernization and transition to 5G.
The choice of Labriola in recent weeks has been assumed by many analysts, to maintain a certain continuity within the company after the resignation of Gubitosi, who has been CEO since 2018.
Gubitosi was teased by Vivendi who owns 24 percent of Tim’s stock. Criticisms related to the company’s deteriorating accounts and some commercial options, such as the decision to support Dazn in buying the television rights to Premier League football (of which Tim is the first sponsor).
In the fall, the situation was further complicated by the offer of the US fund KKR to acquire at least 51 percent of the company’s shares, for control.
In recent years, Gubitosi has been among the protagonists of the process that led to the founding of FiberCop, a company responsible for developing and installing fiber or copper connections between junction boxes (the ones you see on the street) up to those dwellings. Tim controls FiberCop with 58 percent, KKR owns its second shareholder with 37.5 percent, while the remaining shares are owned by Fastweb. Therefore, the company, more than other initiatives, recognized KKR’s significant participation in the telecommunications sector in Italy.
For this reason, some analysts have assumed that KKR’s proposal to buy a majority of Tim’s shares was favored by the already ongoing contacts with the fund by Gubitosi, at the expense of the current major shareholder, Vivendi.
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