Rome, Italy - October 4, 2013, Rome, Italy - Telecom Italia announced that Franco Bernabe, chairman and chief executive officer, has resigned.
Article continues below
Since April 2011 Mr. Bernabe was Telecom Italia Chairman and Chief Executive Officer after having the position of Chief Executive Officer in the previous three-year period.
Mr. Bernabe began his professional career in 1976 as a Senior Economist at the OECD Department of Economics and Statistics in Paris. In 1978 he joined the Planning Department of FIAT as Chief Economist. In 1983 he joined Eni as an Assistant to the Chairman and became subsequently the Head of Corporate Planning, Financial Control and Corporate Development.
From 1992 to 1998 Mr. Bernabe was CEO of Eni. In November 1998 he became CEO of Telecom Italia, a position he retained until May 1999 after the acquisition of the company by Olivetti. At the end of 1999 he founded FB Group, an investment company active in the areas of financial advisory, ICT and renewable energy.
In 2004, following the merger of the financial advisory activities of FB Group with the Rothschild Group, Mr. Bernabe was appointed as Vice Chairman of Rothschild Europe, position which he left when he became CEO of Telecom Italia.
Mr. Bernabe is currently Chairman of the Board of GSMA, the international organisation of mobile operators, member of the Board of Directors of PetroChina, and member of the European Roundtable. He is also Co-President of the Italy Brasil Business Council and Vice President of the Rome Industrialist and Enterprises Association with special duties for innovation and Broadband. He is member of the Governing Board of Confindustria.
After earning his degree with honours in Economics and Political Science at the University of Turin, Mr. Bernabe worked for two years as a post-graduate fellow at the Einaudi Foundation.
The company also announced that Chief Operating Officer Marco Patuano was given executive powers temporarily and Deputy Chairman Aldo Minucci will run the board until a chairman is appointed.
Since April 13, 2011 Mr. Patuano is Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of Telecom Italia. After some experience in the United States, Mr. Patuano started his career in Telecom Italia in 1990, at the central Headquarters of the company, then called SIP. Since then, he has worked in the company financial sector. His international career started in 2003 with appointment as CFO of TIM Brasil and Telecom Italia America Latina S.A., both Telecom Italia subsidiaries.
Mr. Patuano was also General Manager of Telecom Italia Latam; in this capacity he was a member of the Boards of Directors of the Telecom Italia subsidiaries in Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela and Paraguay. He also held operational positions in three of the companies. In the same period he was also a member of the
Board of Directors of the USA branch of Telecom Argentina, and of American internet companies connected with the Group.
In 2006 Mr. Patuano became Director of Fixed Telephony of Telecom Argentina, and from May 2007 to July 2008 was Operational General Manager for the entire company (fixed and mobile telephony). In 2008, he became Chief Financial Officer of the Group. He was also in charge of the Telecom Italia domestic market.
Mr. Patuano graduated from Bocconi University in 1990, with specialisation in Corporate Finance.
Mr. Minucci has been a Director of Telecom Italia since April 16, 2007. After graduating in Law, he was employed by Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A., working in the Tax Consultancy Service, for which he became Manager in 1983. In 1993 he was appointed Central Manager with responsibility for the Administration and Tax Coordination Service, and supervision of the Tax Consultancy Service.
In 1995 Mr. Minucci took on the role of Deputy General Manager for technical-commercial coordination of insurance companies in Italy, and is Supervisor of the Group's Internal Audit Service. ■