Italy's Ferretti chief criticizes biggest shareholder Weichai as proxy battle looms, FT reports

Ferretti SpA

30/04/2026 07:05

April 30 (Reuters) - Italian luxury yacht-maker Ferretti YACHT.MI was being held back by a “lack of industrial vision” and its large Chinese shareholder's aversion to risk, its chief executive told the Financial Times.

CEO Alberto Galassi's comments come as the company's two largest shareholders - Chinese state-owned conglomerate Weichai Group and Czech investor KKCG Maritime - set the stage for a proxy battle at the company's annual meeting on May 14.

Galassi said “management changes at Weichai have constrained decision-making at Ferretti and the lack of industrial vision is weighing negatively on the group", in an interview with the FT published on Thursday.

KKCG Maritime submitted a list of nominees, including KKCG's founder, Karel Komarek, for president, and proposed confirming Galassi as chief executive.

The Czech firm, which last month increased its stake to around 23% of Ferretti's capital, said it wanted to overhaul the firm's board, currently dominated by representatives of China's Weichai Group, which has a 39.5% stake.

Weichai's slate contains no explicit nominee for the chief executive role, and proposes Executive Director Tan Ning as chair.

Galassi said Weichai’s decision-making had slowed since its former chair Tan Xuguang's departure in 2024.

He said Weichai's decision to scrap Ferretti's security division was a "grave mistake", and criticised the Chinese group's strategic and capital allocation decisions.

Weichai did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Galassi's interview.

(Reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru)

((chandni.shah@thomsonreuters.com))