MILAN: Telecom Italia on Friday said former Chief Executive Officer Luigi Gubitosi is stepping down from the company's board effective immediately, removing a hurdle that stopped Italy's biggest phone group from naming his successor.
Gubitosi quit his role as CEO last month after coming under pressure from TIM's biggest investor Vivendi and losing the confidence of a majority of board members, following a string of profit warnings. The boardroom crisis has hampered the group's response to a US$37 billion takeover approach from US private equity fund KKR which is conditional on backing from the company and Italy's government.TIM, Europe's sixth-biggest telecoms group, said that a thorough assessment of the terms of the deal is being made, along with a review of strategic alternatives, to decide whether to give KKR access to the data.