TIM appoints new CFO as plan takes shape

Telecom Italia (TIM) has unveiled a further appointment to the highest echelons of its management structure as it continues to formulate a strategy that, it hopes, will provide a foundation for growth.

Following a board meeting yesterday, TIM said Adrian Calaza will take over from Giovanni Ronca as chief financial officer from March 1.

Calaza has considerable experience of the TIM group, having held various positions over the years. His last role at the group was as CFO of TIM Brasil, meaning that he is well-acquainted with TIM's recently appointed CEO, Pietro Labriola, who previously served as the boss of the Brazilian operation.

Figure 1: Adrian Calaza will take over from Giovanni Ronca as TIM's chief financial officer from March 1.
(Source: Arcansel/Alamy Stock Photo)

TIM will no doubt be hoping that Calaza will be able to hit the ground running when it presents its future vision. Although the board has not yet revealed exactly what lies ahead, it seems that some sort of plan is taking shape.

For example, the group has already indicated that it will focus on enterprise services such as cloud, IoT and cybersecurity. Now that TIM, Telefônica Brasil and Claro have finally secured regulatory approval to buy the mobile assets of the Oi Group, Brazil is also regarded as a future growth area.

A fixed-assets spin-off could still be on the cards, as TIM intimated in January. The group continues to send out cryptic signals on the matter, saying only that the CEO "is continuing to explore possible strategic options, including solutions that go beyond vertical integration."

Alternative plan?

TIM certainly has a lot to discuss, including the not insignificant matter of the €10.8 billion (US$12.2 billion) offer that was made by investor KKR back in November. The suggestion is that Labriola is plotting an alternative plan that will allow TIM to forge its own path, without the support of KKR.

Such a strategy could see TIM separate its infrastructure assets from its service business in order to facilitate a long-mooted merger with Open Fiber.

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Citing unidentified sources, Reuters said the new NetCo would include all of TIM's fiber and copper network, the infrastructure and submarine cable unit Sparkle, a significant part of TIM's net debt, and most of its 42,500 employees in Italy.

The service company would then focus on products, from connectivity to cloud, and would also include TIM's Brazilian operations, the sources told the news agency.

More should be revealed after March 2, when the board is expected to approve Labriola's new strategic vision.

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— Anne Morris, contributing editor, special to Light Reading