Pier Francesco Guarguaglini is a rugged and determined Tuscan. Like so many others in lovely, rural Tuscany, he is an opportunist who likes to keep things simple and direct. Since taking charge of Finmeccanica six years ago, the veteran manager – he is 71 – has transformed the Cinderella of the European defence industry into a global player, outmanoeuvring bigger rivals such as EADS.

Quietly, behind the scenes, he has streamlined and refocused the Italian industrial group while EADS remains shackled to its bureaucratic Franco-German heritage. He has managed to do all this even though the Italian government owns a big stake in his company just as the French and German governments have an influential say in EADS. Mr Guarguaglini reinforced the Italian group’s presence in the UK by taking full control of Westland and then picking up a clutch of defence electronics businesses from BAE Systems. The UK, where Finmeccanica now employs about 10,000 people, has provided him with a bridgehead into the US, the world’s biggest defence market, where EADS has also been struggling to build a convincing defence presence.