The chief executive of Ferretti said a “lack of industrial vision” and an aversion to risk at Chinese state-owned conglomerate Weichai was holding back the luxury yachtmaker, in an extraordinary rebuke of the group’s largest shareholder.Alberto Galassi, who was appointed CEO by the Chinese company in 2014, told the FT that “management changes at Weichai have constrained decision-making at Ferretti and the lack of industrial vision is weighing negatively on the group”.
The comments by Galassi, who also criticised Weichai’s strategic and capital allocation decisions, come as Ferretti’s two largest investors wage a proxy battle ahead of the Riva boat maker’s annual meeting on May 14.
Weichai and Czech billionaire Karel Komárek, who respectively own 39 per cent and 23 per cent of Ferretti’s shares, have filed different slates of board candidates.