Stefano Grassi (pictured) not only chaired Telsy, but was a member of Sparkle’s board of directors and was the group’s security executive VP.
He “will leave the group to undertake a new managerial path”, said TIM, without saying where he might be going.
The company said: “In a historical period that has seen the progressive growth of the cyber threats, the head of group security, through his ability to direct, organise and lead, has contributed decisively to the safeguard of TIM’s infrastructure, a company of national strategic importance.”
He has always been closely associated with the Italian government’s security community. Grassi began his career studying at the Academy of the Guardia di Finanza – Italy’s tax police. He joined the ministry of economy and finance in 2001 and the following year became commander of the Lombardy regional tax police unit, in Milan.
He was VP of security and safety at Poste Italiane, Italy’s post office, for 11 years until 2015, with the responsibility for the protection of the large corporate assets in all its areas. At the same time he was CEO of Poste Tutela, the post office’s security division, responsible for armed surveillance.
In 2015, by decree of the prefect of Rome, he was appointed director of companies involved in the so-called Mafia Capital investigation. This was a criminal organisation that used its connections in Rome to secure lucrative public contracts, before accepting payments for substandard or, sometimes, non-existent services.
After that, in 2016, he joined construction company Salini-Impregilo – now renamed Webuild – as head of security, working with national and international security bodies to ensure physical and material integrity in construction sites operating abroad.
At TIM, his speciality was the complex issues related to the application of the Golden Power regulation. This is the rule set by the Italian government and imposed on TIM, Sparkle and Telsy, setting out special powers in security and national defence sectors.
His departure comes a few days before TIM announces its first-quarter results, due next Tuesday.
