Fears that politics rather than relevant skills and experience would determine the choice of a successor to the late Marisa Bellisario as managing director of Italtel SpA have proved unfounded, and the post has gone to Salvatore Randi, currently director general of Stet SpA, immediate parent of Italtel. Mr Randi’s appointment raises the prospect of another attempt to achieve the commercially highly desirable merger of Italtel with Fiat SpA’s Telettra SpA telecommunications transmission equipment subsidiary, aborted last year for wholly political reasons, because he was with Telettra for 20 years, rising to the position of director general in 1979; he moved over to Italtel in 1982. According to the Wall Street Journal, he was a candidate to run the proposed Telit company that was to have resulted from the merger, and Fiat was keen that he got a top post in it. It was the unilateral nomination of Ms Bellisario, and her strong links with Italy’s Socialist Party, that caused Fiat to declare the merger off. Fiat now says that it would be premature to start talking about trying to put the merger back on the rails. Salvatore Randi was closely involved in the negotiations for an international partner for Italtel, and his appointment should hasten the heavily delayed decision on whether it is AT&T Co, Siemens AG, L M Ericsson Telefon AB or Alcatel NV that gets the much-sought-after agreement. Although Ms Bellisario indicated a preference for AT&T, and Mr Randi worked closely with her on the negotiations, it is not known whether or not he is now thinking along the same lines, or is allied with the politicians wanting a European deal.
