Italy's Acea backs CEO after reports of abusive behaviour
ROME (Reuters) - The board of Italian regional utility Acea on Thursday reaffirmed its "full confidence" in CEO Fabrizio Palermo, after press reports accused him of misogyny and abusive conduct.
Acea's ethics officer was instructed to carry out any "necessary or appropriate" investigations to "dispel any doubts about (the CEO's) conduct," a company statement said.
The board gave the investigative mandate to the officer acting on a proposal from Palermo himself, the statement added.
Daily La Repubblica has run recent articles citing Acea staff as saying Palermo had been abusive towards female hostesses working at the company.
Palermo, 52, has led Acea since September. He was previously the chief executive and director general of Italian state-lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP).
In a letter to the newspaper earlier this week, Acea denied the allegations, and said its ethics officer had examined them and considered them not to be credible.
(Reporting by Alvise Armellini, editing by Gavin Jones)