Telecom Italia (TI) CEO Marco Patuano will back a proposal to curb the power of Telco – the operator’s largest investor group – according to Bloomberg sources.

Directors of the Italian incumbent start reviewing today (16 January) a motion put forward by minority investors – led by Marco Fossati – to strip Telco’s power of naming four-fifths of TI board members.

Although Telco owns only 22.4 per cent of TI, the four-fifths rule effectively gives the investor group – majority-owned by Spain’s Telefonica – control of the Italian operator.

There’s more than a hint of self-preservation about Patuano’s reported eagerness to back the proposal.

Fossati, whose Findim Group owns about 5 per cent of Telecom Italia – and reportedly spurred on by fears of Telefonica’s growing influence – narrowly lost a 20 December vote by shareholders to oust the entire TI board.

Moreover, Patuano’s position – along with the rest of the 11-member board – is up for renewal in April.

Patuano was given executive powers only temporarily following the resignation of Franco Bernabe last October.

“Patuano realises his job is at stake and he understands the message from last month’s shareholders’ meeting that Telecom Italia needs to change its corporate governance and become a public company,” said Andrea Rangone, a professor of business strategy at Milan’s Politecnico University, quoted by Bloomberg.

Cesar Alierta, Telefonica’s CEO, recently stepped down from Telecom Italia’s board in the hope of diffusing a row over an alleged conflict of interest in Brazil where the two operators compete.