Genoa – At the end Antonio Gozzi he capitulated. Pressured for weeks by various leading exponents of the Italian industry, Federacciai's number one has always denied, even publicly, his willingness to run for the presidency of Confindustria. Honored by the trust that many entrepreneurs placed in him, Duferco's number one avoided pressure for a long time with more than concrete arguments, from the role he holds at the top of the Italian steel industry to the commitments of his group, which last month the new rolling mill inaugurated in Brescia. Not to mention the most recent entry, as main shareholder, into Ital Broker, a new adventure in the insurance brokerage sector.
It is difficult to determine what convinced him to give in. There are those who say it was the appeal of the energy-intensive industry – steel, paper, chemicals, glass – in need of a representative capable of fighting, even in Europe, in defense of the technological neutrality that Italian manufacturing claims in order not to be overwhelmed by an ideological and inequitable decarbonisation.
According to what appears in the 19th century, Gozzi would have “made official” his willingness to run for Carlo Bonomi's succession before the general council of Confindustria Genoa.
The work of the wise men of Viale dell'Astronomia will begin in the next few years, but yesterday it seems there was a preparatory meeting in Rome. At the moment there are five who have expressed their willingness to apply, the wise men will have the task of reducing the shortlist of names to three.
The first to take to the field they had been Bonomi's three vice presidents: Emanuele Orsini, Alberto Marenghi and Giovanni Brugnoli. In recent days, the candidacy of Enrico Carraro. Now Gozzi's is added. The games are on.
Born in 1962, Carraro he is at the helm of the Padua-based agricultural machinery manufacturing group of the same name. Already a member of the Confindustria Padova council, the Venetian entrepreneur was part of the Commission for the reform of Confindustria and has been president of Confindustria Veneto since 2019, confirmed for the four-year period 2021-2025. Carraro would have the support of the Venetians but not of all, some industrialists would look favorably on Emanuele Orsini, current vice president of Bonomi with responsibility for credit and finance. Emiliano, born in 1973, CEO of Sistem Costruzioni and Tino Prosciutti, Orsini would have Emilia Romagna, Lazio, parts of Trentino Alto Adige and Lombardy on his side.
Then there is the field Alberto Marenghi, current vice president of Confindustria with responsibility for the organization. Born in Mantua in 1976, Marenghi is managing director of Cartiera Mantovana and Cartiera Galliera. From 2014 to 2019 he presided over Confindustria Mantova and today, in the race, he enjoys the support of Bonomi and some sectors of Assolombarda.
The third vice president in the running is Giovanni Brugnoli, delegation to human capital, is said to be supported by former presidents Boccia and Abete. Lombardo, born in 1970, Brugnoli is president of Tiba Tricot of Castellanza, a company producing fabrics for sportswear, industrial fabrics and furnishings. He led the Union of Industrialists of the Province of Varese from 2011 to 2015. Bonomi's mandate expires in May 2024, the work of the wise men will come to life in February. But the positioning maneuvers to support the candidates have begun.
Di Gozzi, born in 1954, leader of a group with a turnover of over 40 billion dollars, twice president of Federacciai, authoritative exponents of the Confindustria system say he has “a profile of the highest level, both entrepreneurial and personal”. The superior caliber of the other potential candidates does not, however, mean that it automatically transforms into majority consensus: “The system does not always reward business leaders”, is underlined in the environment. Supported by the steelworkers and, more generally, by the large energy-intensive industryGozzi has admirers in Veneto and Lombardy, as well as, naturally, in Liguria, where he enjoys the support of the Territorials and the regional president Giovanni Mondini.
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