His candidacy must be officially validated during Leonardo’s general meeting of shareholders on May 7.
(AFP / MARCO BERTORELLO)
Towards “strategic continuity” at the head of the Italian defense giant Leonardo: the government of Giorgia Meloni proposed on Friday April 10 a former member of the group, Lorenzo Mariani, to take the helm.
The Italian Ministry of the Economy, the main shareholder of Leonardo (formerly Finmeccanica) with 30.2% of the capital, announced Thursday evening its candidates for the positions of president and general director of the largest companies in which it holds stakes, including Leonardo.
The far-right government of Giorgia Meloni chose Lorenzo Mariani, a former member of the Leonardo group,
whose international activities he notably directed.
He will replace Roberto Cingolani, a renowned physicist, former Minister of Ecological Transition in the government of Mario Draghi, who was appointed head of Leonardo by the Meloni government in 2023. His three-year mandate ends in May.
Lorenzo Mariani’s candidacy must be officially validated at Leonardo’s general meeting of shareholders on May 7.
Equita analysts expect “strategic continuity” of the group after the appointment of Lorenzo Mariani due to his experience as co-director and a long management career within the group. However, Leonardo’s action collapsed this week on the Milan Stock Exchange with rumors of a replacement for Roberto Cingolani. It lost 7.13% on Friday, to 55.20 euros at 12:38 p.m. (10:38 a.m. GMT).
His entire career at Leonardo
Lorenzo Mariani has spent his entire career within Leonardo, gradually rising through the ranks from 1992, working in the various companies where the group is present in the capital (Alenia, Selex, MBDA…). On June 1, 2023, he was appointed co-general director of Leonardo and chairman of the board of directors of MBDA Italy. According to the daily
The Republic
Lorenzo Mariani resigned as co-director about two years later due to friction with Roberto Cingolani.
Leonardo posted rising results in 2025 and an increase in new orders in a global context of high geopolitical tensions.
It is engaged in partnerships with German
Rheinmetall
in the construction of armored vehicles, with the Turkish
Baykar
in the construction of drones, with
Airbus
et
Thales
in satellites, and with Japan and the United Kingdom in the construction of new generation combat aircraft.
The group presented at the end of 2025 a software system which must connect European radars, missiles and command systems to respond to attacks. Called “Michelangelo dome”, like the Israeli “iron dome”, it must be operational at the end of 2027.
The Ministry of Finance also proposed Giuseppina Di Foggia for the post of president of the oil giant Eni, however now the general director Claudio Descalzi, who has led the group since 2014. The energy company Enel sees its president, Paolo Scaroni, and its general director, Flavio Cattaneo, remain unchanged, while the air traffic manager, Enav, has a new president, Sandro Pappalardo, and a new general director, Igor De Blasio.
