Italy’s state lender CDP names new CEO at broadband unit Open Fiber – ET Telecom

MILAN: Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) has picked Giuseppe Gola as the new head of its broadband unit Open Fiber, the Italian state lender said on Thursday.

Gola, a former executive at Rome-based utility Acea and Italian telecoms group Wind, will replace Mario Rossetti, who stepped down earlier this month after less than two years in the role.

The new executive will be in charge of drafting a business plan and renegotiating a 7.2-billion-euro ($7.6 billion) financing deal with banks, according to sources close to the matter.

Open Fiber is 60% owned by CDP, with the rest in the hands of Australian fund Macquarie.

Rossetti’s departure is linked to disagreements over strategy with some key figures within Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government, the same sources said.

Open Fiber has been repeatedly involved in plans to combine its network assets with those of former phone monopoly Telecom Italia (TIM), where CDP is the second largest investor.