ROME — A senior manager and longtime employee has left Italy's Leonardo shortly after the confirmation of the firm's new CEO, Alessandro Profumo, according to Italian news reports.

Fabrizio Giulianini, who headed up the electronics, defense and security systems division at Leonardo, reportedly quit after a career spent rising through the ranks at the firm.

The news emerged after the formal appointment of Profumo as CEO on May 16. The former banker was first nominated for the post on March 18 by the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance, which holds a controlling stake in the firm.

On May 16, the Leonardo board confirmed the appointment of Profumo, who replaces outgoing CEO Mauro Moretti.

In his three years as CEO, Moretti changed the firm's name from Finmeccanica to Leonardo and ended its group structure, melding a series of semiautonomous units into a divisional structure.

Amid a cull of senior managers, Giulianini was promoted, taking on responsibility for the company's electronics, defense and security systems unit.

As an industry expert, Giulianini was touted as a possible replacement for Moretti, but the new CEO, an outsider to the industry, got the nod instead. That left Italian media speculating that the new chief executive would name Giulianini as his general manager.

"Giulianini might have stayed on if he had been asked to become general manager," offered one Italian industry official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "Profumo may have been taking his time, and wanting to consider the candidates for the post, but that apparent indecision may have been deemed unacceptable by Giulianini."

Leonardo declined to comment on the resignation.

After his confirmation in the CEO post this week, Profumo said: "Leonardo has always been able to attract the best technical engineering talents, and in order to sustain excellence in its products and technologies, it must seek to exploit fully this capability both in Italy and abroad."

Tom Kington is the Italy correspondent for Defense News.

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