TRIESTE, Italy ― Giuseppe Bono, 73, is one of the longest serving CEOs in the defense business, having served 16 years at the helm of Italian state shipyard Fincantieri.
The expansion has been swift. He has kept a balance of cruise, ludockxury, offshore and naval vessels, recently booking a huge order for new Italian Navy ships, including so-called PPA multipurpose ships, a logistics vessel and a landing helicopter dock. In 2008, Fincantieri paid $120 million to buy four U.S. yards, including Marinette Marine in Wisconsin, which was picked by Lockheed Martin to build its Freedom-class littoral combat ships for the U.S. Navy.
Working with France’s Naval Group, Fincantieri developed the FREMM class of frigate which has been bought by Italy and France. This month the Navy named the FREMM design as one of five it was interested in for its FFG(X) program and handed Fincantieri a $15 million contract for conceptual designs.
Lees verder bij Defence News