Confitarma, Mattioli at the helm

Rome - Much ado about nothing. In the end, there will be no rift between the Genoese and everyone else. Yesterday, the wise men who are leading the search for the association’s new president met the “rebel” shipowners in Genoa, those who started the resistance to the choice of Mario Mattioli. Diplomacy had to work overtime to avoid two names being put forward to succeed Manuel Grimaldi; the Genoese set their sights on Ezio Rosina, the doyen of shipowners who had already said that he was willing to take the job.

The wise men thus reaped the rewards of the diplomatic work and the scheme for the new Confitarma was settled yesterday: Mattioli will be the new president, while Rosina will be vice president. “The Genoese and Neapolitans are both pleased with the ticket,” one source said. Premuda’s owner will be called to play a significant role in the association, and will be the sole vice president, also the symbolic guarantee of the truce. But it seems that not all the rebels have taken the decision well: Rosina was able to convince the majority of the rebels, but some found the agreement hard to swallow.

But the two-headed leadership of the new Confitarma rests on a solid base of votes: in fact, outgoing President Grimaldi likes the double presidency resulting from the truce, as do the tugboat operators - who are the main supporters of Mattioli from the shipping world - and d’Amico and Costa Cruises who always welcomed the idea of Rosina in the leadership. That is the majority of Italy’s shipowners. Thus the following stages of wise men’s meetings, tomorrow in Naples and on 20 June in Rome, already look like a formality, and if everything goes smoothly, the change of guard could take place before summer.

THE UNKNOWN OF MSC
The shipping giant led by Aponte is powerfully represented by Fedarlinea, Confitarma’s competitor association. But MSC also participates in Confitarma; with the recent share acquisition plan, in fact, the Geneva-based group controls GNV, the company led by Matteo Catani, and, if the operation is finalised (“by June and no later,” Aponte recently declared), it will also enter the Messina Group with a minority stake. The Genoese family, which seemed to have the advantage in recent months with Stefano, subsequently withdrew from the running precisely in order to better follow this phase of the company’s life. Both companies have roots in Confitarma, but could be caught up in the sea battle between Aponte and Grimaldi. The Mattioli-Rosina pairing will have to handle this first prickly matter to put an end to the conflict over the coastal trade and to prevent Confitarma from losing any more companies.

THE NEW LEADERSHIP
Mario Mattioli, who is from Naples, is the C.E.O. of the Augusta Company (offshore and tugboats). He is considered to be a young president who is very close to the needs of the tugboat operators who are now also represented by two other associations. In Confitarma he was in charge of training and was recently appointed president of the sailors’ fund. Ezio Rosina, who is from Genoa, and 84 years old, is the doyen of shipowners: he was in the leadership of the publicly-owned fleet of Finmare, and then founded Premuda, which he had to give up control over this year. Youth and experience to lead the Italian shipowners’ association out of the storm.