Italian yacht builder Ferretti Group has named Alberto Galassi as its new Chief Executive Officer, replacing Ferruccio Rossi with immediate effect.
Weichai Group of China, the majority shareholder in the Ferretti Group since 2012, has also announced a cash offer to the group in the form of a shareholders’ loan of 30 million Euros that is immediately available and can be converted into an increase in capital in the future.
The change of CEO is part of a consolidation and re-launching plan that is focused on conceiving and building a new range of products to secure new positions on international markets. Ferretti has denied rumours that it is planning to have a shipyard in China and move building from Italy.
Galassi, an attorney specializing in international law, joined the board of Ferretti Group in October last year. Galassi is also President of Piaggio Aero Industries and the only Italian director on the board of English Premier League football champions Manchester City.
'I’d like to thank President Tan Xuguang and the Weichai Group for the trust they have placed in me by appointing me to a position with such great responsibility,' Galassi says. 'We are confident that our brands and products, in whose development the shareholders have made a major investment, will appeal to the taste and gain the trust of the discriminating boat owners who are already a part of the Ferretti tradition, as well as of new owners who are taking their first steps into the world of boating. It is with great enthusiasm that I am placing my commitment, my experience and my great passion for boating at the disposal of the Ferretti Group, of its boat owners and of its entire workforce.'