New board for Open Fiber following takeover

Italian broadband operator Open Fiber has announced the appointment of Mario Rossetti as its new CEO.

The announcement comes less than a month after Australian investment bank Macquarie and state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) won EU regulatory approval to takeover the operator.

In addition to the appointment of Rossetti – who replaces interim CEO Francesca Romana Napolitano – Barbara Marinal has been named as new chairman. She replaces Franco Bassanini, who has been handed the role of senior advisor.

Other new members on the refreshed board of directors at Open Fiber includes Roberta Battaglia, Nathan Luckey, Geoff Shakespeare and Alessandro Tonetti.

The new board’s first meeting resulted in it approving the company’s 2022-2031 Business Plan which focuses on expanding fibre into underserved areas.

The board also approved an agreement with a consortium of banks to secure committed credit lines of €7.175 billion, which it describes as ‘the biggest ever infrastructure funding deal in EMEA telecommunications networks.”

The takeover has seen CDP’s Open Fiber stake increased from 10% to 60% while Macquarie acquired 40% of the operator which previously was joint-controlled by Enel.