But according to Reuters’ sources, it will be announced that di Montezemolo will serve as chairman of Alitalia as soon as regulators approve a 49 percent sale of the airline to Etihad in a deal worth around $2.2 billion. The national airline of Abu Dhabi is looking to expand in Europe and already has stakes in Germany’s Air Berlin and Ireland's Aer Lingus, among others.
Several years ago, di Montezemolo was rumored to be eyeing a role in Italian politics. However, he has denied those claims.
September’s resignation announcement came as quite a shock to many as di Montezemolo had been tied with Ferrari for most of his adult life. He had been running the show in Maranello for the past 23 years and prior to his resignation had said he was keen to stay with the company for at least three more years before retiring.
In the end, disagreements with Ferrari’s parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles over moves to boost production numbers and take the company public, as well as continued poor performance in F1, eventually led to him throwing in the towel.
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