Italian luxury yacht-maker Ferretti 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 per cent 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 per cent 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)