The restructuring of Sinochem Group Co., Ltd. and China National Chemical Corporation Ltd. (ChemChina) has resulted in the establishment of a new entity, Sinochem Holdings Corporation Ltd. (Sinochem Holdings). As of 8 May 2021, both Sinochem Group and ChemChina became wholly-owned subsidiaries of the new state-owned enterprise, which is said to be the world’s largest chemical conglomerate.
Restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic threw a spanner into the works of Pirelli’s plan to introduce 18-inch tyres for the 2021 Formula 1 season. To accommodate this delay, the FIA and Formula 1 have proposed that Pirelli extend its existing exclusive tyre supply contract by one further year. Pirelli has agreed to this.
Pirelli and Angelos Papadimitriou, the tyre maker’s general manager and co-CEO, have agreed to end their working relationship. Pirelli hasn’t specified the date on which Papadimitriou will relinquish these roles, but when he does the duties he performed as general manager and co-CEO will be taken over by Marco Tronchetti Provera, Pirelli’s executive vice chairman and chief executive officer, until a successor is appointed.
Pirelli executive vice chairman and CEO, Marco Tronchetti Provera has proposed Angelos Papadimitriou for the new office of general manager co-CEO. Papadimitriou will report directly to Marco Tronchetti Provera. The appointment has been added to the agenda for the scheduled 23 July 2020 board of directors meeting. According to an official statement outlining the appointment, “the aim of the reorganization is to support the realization of the business model and broaden the management team in view of the succession path which will be completed in the first half of 2023”. In other words, Papadimitriou is being positioned as Tronchetti Provera’s successor.
As a result of its shareholder meeting on 18 June, the board of directors of Pirelli & C. SpA re-nominated Marco Tronchetti Provera as Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) attributing to him the powers for the operational management of Pirelli. Company chairman, Ning Gaoning, was given the authority of legal representation of the company.
There will of course be 12 months next year, but you won’t be able to check that on a Pirelli Calendar. Pirelli has decided to cancel production and the launch of the 2021 Calendar, and instead ‘The Cal’ project will, in the context of other initiatives already undertaken by the company, donate 100,000 euros to the fight against and research into the coronavirus.
A three-year extension to the Shareholders’ Agreement covering the governance of Pirelli & C. S.p.A was agreed upon yesterday. This extension will take effect from the publication date of the notice convening the Pirelli shareholders’ meeting for approving the company’s 2019 financial statements.
The Pirelli tyre plant in Carlisle hosted a royal guest today to mark its 50th year of operation. His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales was welcomed at the plant by Marco Tronchetti Provera, chief executive officer and executive vice-chairman of Pirelli, along with Andrew Mitchell, HM Trade Commissioner for Europe, and Raffaele Trombetta, Italy’s Ambassador to the UK, senior Pirelli management and many employees.
Pirelli will remain global tyre partner of the FIA Formula One World Championship until the end of the 2023 season after extending its current contract – which lasts until the end of the 2019 season – for a further four years. Pirelli notes that the agreement to extend the partnership was “completed in a short timeframe” on the back of the “successful partnership over recent years.”
Pirelli Tyre Russia and Rostec have placed their signatures upon a memorandum covering plans to more than double production capacity at the Voronezh Tire Plant in southwest Russia. This agreement formalises the long-held aim of increasing capacity at the joint venture facility from 2 million to more than 4 million passenger car tyres per annum.
Pirelli is looking forward to tax concessions worth millions through its participation in the ‘Patent Box’ tax regime. Yesterday the tyre maker signed an agreement with the Italian tax office covering the 2015 to 2019 fiscal years; it estimates that the tax benefit for the three fiscal years to 2017 alone will amount to approximately 54 million euros.
Pirelli has become the first tyre company to join the United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund, pledging a contribution of US$600,000 (2018-2019) to help the fund in its global road safety efforts. At the same time, the company’s chief sustainability and risk governance officer, Filippo Bettini, was nominated to a seat on the fund’s Advisory Board.
Pirelli has signed an agreement with Luna Rossa Challenge for the constitution of a partnership aimed at the development of a multi-year project which will lead to Luna Rossa’s participation in the next edition of the America’s Cup, set for New Zealand in 2021. Pirelli and Prada will be co-titled sponsors of the vessel and will detail their plans at a soon-to-be-organised event.
As a consequence of his announced retirement as chairman of China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina), Ren Jianxin has resigned from all roles he held on the Board of Directors at Pirelli & C. S.p.A. His resignation took effect 30 July. Pirelli has officially thanked Ren for his “contribution to the company in these years.”
At a ceremony held at the Mexican Embassy in Rome on Monday, the Águila Azteca (Order of the Aztec Eagle) was bestowed upon Marco Tronchetti Provera. The Pirelli executive vice-president and chief executive offer received this, the highest honour the government of Mexico grants to foreigners, for services rendered to the country.
