CNH chooses Marx from Iveco Group as new CEO | WKZO | Everything Kalamazoo

(Reuters) – The holding company of Italy’s Agnelli family has overseen a shake-up at the top of two of its major industrial groups, with Scott Wine quitting his role as CEO of agricultural and construction machinery group CNH to be replaced by Iveco -boss Gerrit Marx.

The two companies said Sunday that Marx will replace Wine starting July 1. Turin-based Iveco said it has appointed board member Olof Persson as its new CEO.

Iveco and CNH are both controlled by Exor of Agnellis. Iveco Group’s current market capitalization is about 3.4 billion euros ($3.6 billion), less than a quarter of that of CNH.

Marx, who has German nationality, guided Iveco, the Italian bus and truck manufacturer, through its spin-off from its then parent company CNH, which was completed in early 2022, and through its first years as an independent company.

Iveco shares doubled their value between November and early this month, before correcting slightly later in April.

By contrast, CNH shares have lost more than 30% of their value since last year’s highs, when it lowered its revenue forecast and announced a plan to reduce its workforce, citing declining demand for its farm equipment.

CNH said Wine left the company to pursue other interests, and that the board had accepted his request to leave at the end of the current three-year business plan cycle.

Amid the Iveco spin-off, CNH has increasingly focused its activities on precision agriculture, including with the acquisition of the American group Raven Industries in 2021.

CNH recently finalized a plan to drop its dual listings in New York and Milan and focus on a U.S.-only listing.

Marx had presented Iveco’s new business plan last month, which targeted a 20% increase in sales by 2028.

Persson, a 59-year-old Swede, has held leadership positions at several manufacturing companies in his career, including CEO at Iveco’s rival Volvo Group.

He has been closely involved in the development of the group’s recently presented business plan, Iveco said in a statement.

CNH also said the board had decided that Investor Day, scheduled for May 21, would be postponed to allow Marx to lead the company’s planning and objectives for the next phase of its development.

($1 = 0.9386 euros)

(Reporting by Akanksha Khushi in Bengaluru and Giulio Piovaccari in Milan; Editing by Frances Kerry and David Holmes)