The chief executive officer of renowned Italian motorcycle builder Ducati, Gabriele Del Torchio is the top choice to take over the helm of ailing airline Alitalia. This move was confirmed by several Italian newspapers last Saturday.
The incumbent CEO of the airline, Andrea Ragnetti, filed for resignation after just a year on the job last February. The resignation comes amidst a report indicating a net loss of Eur280 million or US$367 million back in 2012.
One quarter of Alitalia is owned by Air France-KLM and the airline suffered severely as the drop in air travel was precipitated by the Euro Zone debt crisis and the continued recession in Italy.
The board of directors of Alitalia would be naming a new CEO by next week. The deadline was confirmed by the news daily Il Corrierre della Sera without naming sources. On the other hand, Il Messaggero said the board of the airline could meet on April to take up the issue.
When asked by Il Corrierre Della Serra, Del Torchio quipped, "This is an idea, I haven't signed anything yet." Del Torchio is known as the turnaround executive at Ducati.
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