MILAN, Reuters -Generali, Italy’s largest insurance company, said Monday that veteran executive Luciano Cirina was fired by the insurer. He is challenging Philippe Donnet publicly for the chief executive position.

A leading Generali investor has proposed Cirina for the job of head of Austria and CEE at the insurer. This is part in a power struggle that will see a vote by shareholders on April 29.

Generali released a statement saying that “the decision was taken because of breaches of his duty as loyalty and material breach other personal obligations pursuant to his contract of employment.”

Cirina did not immediately respond to the press conference. He presented the alternative plans of his camp for the insurer on Friday at the news conference in Milan, along with Claudio Costamagna (the rebel shareholder candidate) as the nominee to head the group.

Italian unions stated Monday that they are concerned about the possibility of cost cutting targets being set by Generali and other men for a company with national significance.

Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone (who owns over 9% of Generali) wants Donnet to step down as CEO and replace him with Cirina.

Generali’s board proposed Donnet to be re-elected with the support of Mediobanca, its largest shareholder (OTC).

“AWAKENING LION”

Caltagirone and his team set up their booth on Friday. They had a plan called “Awakening the Lion”, an allusion to Generali’s nickname, “The Lion in Trieste”, that features on the company’s logo. They want to boost earnings growth, cut costs, and do bigger M&A deals.

These challengers are aiming to boost earnings per share growth through acquisitions to greater than 14% during the 2021-2024 period. This compares to Generali’s goal of 6-8%, and would place the group amongst the top-in-class. Rebels want to lower the cost-income ratio from 64% to 55%.

Generali shares increased 4% Monday to reach their highest point in over a decade, as the shareholders battle fuelled buying.

Berenberg stated in a note, “Winner by narrow margin would be the best result for investors,” adding that Generali would exceed its growth rate target (6% to 8% per share) and would over-deliver on this goal.

It stated that reelection is most likely because the team’s track record over the last six years has been strong.