Fincantieri and Naval Group joint venture Naviris appoints new Chairman and CEO

Fincantieri and Naval Group joint venture Naviris appoints new Chairman and CEO

(IN BRIEF) Naviris, the joint venture between Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri and French defense company Naval Group, has announced the appointment of Pierroberto Folgiero as Chairman, Damien Raby as CEO, and Enrico Bonetti as COO. The bi-national team is split evenly between Italian and French employees, with the joint venture focused on bi-national and export projects in the naval defense sector. Naviris’ recent work has included a feasibility study on the mid-life upgrade of four French and Italian Horizon frigates and the development of the European Patrol Corvette in partnership with Fincantieri, Naval Group, and Navantia.

(PRESS RELEASE) ROME, 30-Mar-2023 — /EuropaWire/ — On March 28th, following the Board of Directors of Naviris, the joint venture between Fincantieri and Naval Group, various nominations were announced.

Pierroberto Folgiero has been appointed Chairman. Damien Raby, appointed Chief Executive Officer and Enrico Bonetti, reappointed Chief Operational Officer, will run the joint venture. Parent companies are equally represented on the Board of Directors.

Created in 2020, Naviris is a 50/50 joint venture, with half of the employees Italian and half French. With the head office located in Genova and a subsidiary in Ollioules, the Naviris team focuses on bi-national and export projects.

Naviris was created on the belief that the collaboration in the European naval industry is essential in allowing the European continent to be a leader in the strategic sector of naval defense, either for its own needs or for those of its allies.

Since its creation, Naviris has been working on different key projects. In July 2020, Naviris signed a contract with OCCAR, the European Joint Armaments Cooperation organization, for a feasibility study on the mid-life upgrade (MLU) of the four French and Italian Horizon frigates. The studies have been completed and delivered to OCCAR. On the same project, currently Naviris in partnership with Eurosam is dealing the negotiation phase with OCCAR in order to get the main contract covering the MLU for the four frigates.

Naviris also signed a 4-year contract regarding R&T with OCCAR in June 2020 for joint research activities, but also the upgrade of design and production process for the vessels destined to France, Italy and their export. As prime contractor, Naviris coordinates technical activities managed by Fincantieri and Naval Group and owns the intellectual property of all the research findings.

Naviris’ work also includes the development of the European Patrol Corvette (EPC). In July 2022, the European Commission selected the proposal submitted by the consortium led by Naviris together with Fincantieri, Naval Group and Navantia for the Modular and Multirole Patrol Corvette (MMPC) call. The objective of the consortium’s proposal is to maximize synergies and collaboration among European shipbuilding industrials. By developing together a new ship, the EPC, they aim to ensure a European sovereignty in the second rank warship. Naviris paves the way to the consolidation of European naval defense in response to the increasing pressure of worldwide competitors.

Media Contact:

Tel. +39 040 3192473
press.office@fincantieri.it

SOURCE: Fincantieri