Ferretti Group, Weichai accuses CEO Galassi: “He excludes our executives from decision-making processes”

Tensions have resurfaced at the top of Ferretti Group, a world leader in the design and construction of yachts and pleasure craft.

According to an article published in the October 8, 2025 edition of Il Corriere della Sera, written by Giuliana Ferraino, the company’s main shareholder — the Chinese multinational Weichai Group, which holds 37.5% of the capital — accuses CEO Alberto Galassi of having “concentrated decision-making power” and excluded its representatives from the group’s strategic processes.

The allegation is contained in an internal document sent by Weichai to its parent company, reviewed by Bloomberg and cited by the Italian daily.

In the document, the Chinese group claims that its managers have been “cut off from the Forlì headquarters”, Ferretti’s main operational base, and relegated to marginal roles in the Milan offices, resulting in a downsizing of their operational responsibilities within the organisation.

Ferretti declined to comment on the reports, while Weichai did not respond to requests for clarification.

The latest clash comes just over a year after the so-called “spy story”, which involved managers linked to the Chinese shareholder.

In 2024, listening devices were discovered in Ferretti’s Milan offices — an incident that led the Milan Prosecutor’s Office to open two investigations.

As previously reported by PressMare, that episode had further strained relations between the management and the reference shareholder, already tense over disagreements surrounding a share buyback plan.

Since 2014, Ferretti Group has been led by Alberto Galassi and is listed on both the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Borsa Italiana, where it returned in 2023 following its first Asian listing in 2022.

The group — owner of prestigious brands such as Riva, Pershing, Wally, Itama, Custom Line and CRN — remains one of the key players in luxury yachting and Italian high-end shipbuilding.

In recent years, Galassi has pursued a strategy of industrial consolidation and production diversification, focusing on new investments, targeted acquisitions, and the expansion of the company’s global sales and service network.

However, the dualism between the Chinese shareholding and the Italian governance appears to have led to a progressive tightening of internal relations — a tension now once again coming to the surface.

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