Ferrari Chief Takes Wheel at Italian Industry Body

Italy's powerful industry group Confindustria chose the chairman of Ferrari as its new leader on Thursday, hoping the dynamism that once helped Niki Lauda to two Formula One titles will help to mend its internal rifts.

Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, a 56-year-old former rally driver, is a member of Italy's business elite as a board member of Ferrari's main shareholder Fiat.

Di Montezemolo told a news conference he would stay on at Ferrari during his four-year term at the industry body, but he declined to outline his priorities or say how he would steer Italy's business lobby through increasing industrial strife.

"Now more than ever we need a strong, united Confindustria," he said, pledging to seek good relations with the government and unions. Di Montezemolo's first job at the age of 26 was as sporting director of Ferrari, where he helped Lauda to two world titles.

At the news conference, he noted Ferrari's weekend Grand Prix win by Michael Schumacher in Australia, saying he hoped the timing would be auspicious for an upturn in Italy's economic fortunes.

But his arrival at Confindustria comes amid strained relations between employers, struggling to maintain revenues in a stagnant economy, and workers, who complain of a drop in spending power and are resisting plans for structural reforms.

Italy faces a half-day general strike on March 26 over a government plan to raise the retirement age.

Fresh Start

Industry chiefs at the meeting congratulated the new leader.

"I think Confindustria can get out of the tunnel in which it's been stuck in recent years," said top Italian financier Carlo de Benedetti, owner of industrial holding group CIR, welcoming the new leader's appointment.

"I think it can once again play an important role as a reference point for all business people, and also for the whole country which really needs it."

Di Montezemolo replaces Antonio d'Amato, whose chairmanship was marred by abrasive relations with both unions and government. D'Amato was seen as close to Italy's thousands of small and medium-sized companies rather than the big business groups, a marked contrast with di Montezemolo.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, himself a captain of industry and Italy's richest man, is a big fan of di Montezemolo. The premier tried to persuade him to be his industry minister when he swept to power in 2001.