Leonardo CEO exit dulls EU defence renaissance

Leonardo SpA

08/04/2026 11:19

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

By Neil Unmack

LONDON, April 8 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Some musical chairs at defence group Leonardo LDOF.MI send a worrying signal for Europe's rearmament. The Italian government, which owns roughly a third of the 33-billion-euro ($38 billion) helicopters-to-tanks group, may replace Roberto Cingolani as CEO. It jars with his track record of high shareholder returns and sound dealmaking.

Seemingly random CEO rotations are nothing new in Italy. Rome owns major stakes in companies ranging from energy major Eni ENI.MI to shipbuilder Fincantieri FCT.MI, contributing to a higher-than average C-suite churn as boardrooms get wrapped up in political horse trading. That can backfire: in 2023, Enel’s share price tanked after the government ousted CEO Francesco Starace. Leonardo's Cingolani may be next, according to a Tuesday Reuters report citing two sources close to the matter, who didn't specify the reasons.

Axing Cingolani would be hard to justify on any commercial or industrial basis. His appointment by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in 2023 was in itself controversial: a physicist by training, he had never run a listed company or a defence group. Yet his tenure has seen Leonardo deliver sector-beating returns. Until news of a possible exit surfaced, the Italian group's total shareholder return under Cingolani had beaten even German goliath Rheinmetall RHMG.DE. Leonardo ended 2025 with a record high order intake of 24 billion euros, and a clean balance sheet.

The company under Cingolani has also embarked on a string of deals. Those include the purchase of Iveco’s IVG.MI defence arm, a satellite partnership with Thales and Airbus AIR.PA, and the so-called Michelangelo Dome, a new potentially Europe-wide defence system to counter drone and missile swarms. Others are still in the works, such as an aircraft partnership with Saudi Arabia’s PIF.

The risk is that a management change delays deals. A further concern is the lack of clarity over his replacement. Specifically, it's not clear whether the government's move reflects strategic or geopolitical disagreement, or is simply the result of political horse-trading. The latter may be more likely given Meloni's weakness after a recent judicial referendum defeat.

Leonardo's shares fell 8% on Tuesday, eliminating nearly 3 billion euros of equity value. The consequences for Europe's nascent military renaissance, prompted by Russia's Ukraine invasion and a geopolitical rift with the U.S., could be severe. The grim lesson is that even an ambitious defence CEO, with expansive plans, is not immune to domestic political meddling.

The only good news, for investors, is that the government’s stake does not give it unlimited sway. With a roughly 30% holding, Rome will likely present the main list for the Leonardo board in April. In the past, institutional investors have managed to exercise a sizeable vote in shareholder meetings for Italian state-owned companies, even at times surpassing that of the government. Meloni could avoid a battle by picking an experienced candidate like former Leonardo executive Lorenzo Mariani. Either way, the broader message is hardly reassuring for Europe's defence sector.

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CONTEXT NEWS

Italy is likely to replace Roberto Cingolani as CEO of defence group Leonardo, Reuters reported on April 7 citing two sources close to the matter.

The Italian government, which owns a little more than 30% of Leonardo through its Economy Ministry, must file a slate of board candidates by April 13.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is pushing for a leadership change at the company, Reuters reported citing one of the sources, who did not provide further details.

A leading candidate for the top job at Leonardo is Lorenzo Mariani, Reuters reported citing the other source. Mariani is a former Leonardo executive. He is currently managing director for Italy at missile maker MBDA, which is jointly owned by Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo.

Leonardo's rival-beating total shareholder returns under CEO Cingolani https://www.reuters.com/graphics/BRV-BRV/byprnxkrope/chart.png

(Editing by Liam Proud; Production by Shrabani Chakraborty)

((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can click on UNMACK/neil.unmack@thomsonreuters.com))